FateUnbalance
by DaItalianFish
Summary: [AU] Three weeks before the Fifth Holy Grail War begins, a teenager from an alternate universe is thrown into Fuyuki City. Having knowledge that no other Master could hope to have, he begins his fight.
1. Prologue

**Prologue **_(Three weeks prior)_

As Rin gazed through the windows of the classroom, her mind was anywhere but. Class had yet to begin, and her classmates were chatting about their daily lives. These lives were ones that belonged to normal people, ones that were static and followed a set path. The girl sitting alone did not have such a life.

Only three more weeks, she thought to herself. In a few weeks, a battle of magi would take place, secretly, within the city of Fuyuki. The 5th Holy Grail War. Heroic spirits from across time would be summoned by skilled Magi to fight one another, all in hope to obtain the mystical Holy Grail, an omnipotent device that can grant wishes.

With her skill, Rin knew that she would summon a powerful Servant. Her victory was almost certain.

"Class, it appears that we have a new student. Please, introduce yourself to the class."

Even still, she must prepare. While the Matou family will not be able to produce a Master this war, the Einzberns will, and there still will be other Masters that may come. The Holy Grail War is known by many Magi, and there is no telling who will show up in attempt to claim the Grail.

"Hello. My name is Charles Sennett, but please, I wish for you all to call me Charles. As you can probably tell, I'm not from Japan, I'm from England. My family moves quite often, as my parent's jobs often take them all over the world. They allowed me to move to Japan for the time being, since it is closer to where they currently are. I've learned Japanese from one of my many tutors, but I am still not akin to all your customs yet. I hope you all will be patient as I learn."

It is her duty as the Tohsaka head to not tarnish her family's name. Only by winning the Grail can she prevent this.

"We understand, Charles. There is an open spot between Tohsaka and Nishio. Please, take a seat so we can begin class."

If she fails, the Tohsaka line will die out. Her family already suffered from the last Grail War. She cannot let her family name be erased. She will succeed where her father could not.

"Hello, Rin. It is nice to meet you."

Around the classroom, gasps are heard. Some students began mumbling to one another.

Rin, the school idol, turned to look in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. A student with dark blond hair and green eyes, who appeared to be a foreign, looked back at her with his arm outstretched in her direction. Looking around, Rin noticed that all of her classmates look incredibly shocked, and were either looking at her or the foreigner. The event that transpired as she was pondering the war came back to her, and she realized this fool must be Charles, her new classmate.

As she began to open her mouth, she was interrupted by the teacher.

"Charles, you should know that here in Japan it is rude to call somebody you just met by their personal name. You should use their family name unless they ask you otherwise."

Rin glanced back to the idiot, to see what he had to say.

"Oh, yes! I am so very sorry, Tohsaka", Charles replied while doing a shoddy bow, "I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me."

* * *

Stupid. Idiotic. Annoying. Distracting. All of these words could describe the foreigner that showed up two weeks ago.

As it turned out, he happened to live quite close to her. The result of this unfortunate coincidence is that every day on her way to school, he always managed to find her. While he didn't harass her after she rejected his proposal to walk together, that does not stop him from asking the next day.

Before class began, he always said hello to her, and tried to strike up conversation. During lunch, he asked if they can eat together. He had even asked if they can walk home together.

Being the school idol, this was not uncommon to Rin. Many boys had annoyed her like he has, but none had been so stubborn. Most get the picture after one rejection. Some don't understand until it is put bluntly. However, no matter what she did, this foreigner would not stop. After every rejection he simply smiled and laughed it off, like it was a joke. This just made her even more angrier.

Once she had actually accepted his offers, in an attempt to scare him away. She had made him carry her books around, buy her lunch, and do other tedious activities for her. After school, she had told him to wait by the school gate for her, and then she had went out the back. When she came back hours later to see, he had still been standing in the same spot. Oddly enough, he had simply laughed it off like normal, and acted like nothing happened. The only result of her experiment was rumours around the school, so she had quickly stopped using him like that.

Even though she tried to maintain the image of an honour student, her anger sometimes got the better of her, though never around others. When that happened, he becomes apologetic, and sincere. It was because of this that she allowed it to go on. Despite the fact that he is incredibly annoying, she admired the stubbornness he possessed while still managing to be modest. That did not stop her from being instantly put in a bad mood whenever she came in contact with him, however.

Her classmates had already taken a liking to him. If she had forced him to stop, everyone would have noticed. It is also possible he would have told the others. To keep the image of an honour student, she could not let that happen. She knew he would stop eventually, so she would just wait till that day came. Besides, school idols always needed one or two stubborn admirers.

* * *

Within the darkness of Fuyuki a battle between immensely powerful beings took place, and as the killing blow is about to be struck, a bystander jumped in the way.

As Rin rushed over to him, she couldn't believe her eyes. _Why would he do such a thing?_ _Why would a Master risk his life to protect his Servant? _It even made less sense considering that person did not even want to partake in the war. He had no wish to grant. Yet he laid in a pool of blood, all for nothing.

"Do not worry."

Rin heard a familiar voice, one that should not be there. As she turned to look, she saw someone in a student uniform, and a gray-robed figure behind him. Their faces were both cloaked in shadows, so it was impossible to see who they were. As she stared at the two, the student began to walk towards her.

"He will be okay," he stated as if nothing was wrong, "we should hurry and get him out of here".

As he got closer, she realized he had dark blond hair, and was not Japanese. Suddenly, her mood worsened.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **If you didn't like this part, I'd suggest at least reading the first actual "chapter". I honestly don't think this part was that great. I sorta tried to do something like the Fate/Stay Night prologue, but I don't think I did a very good job. I can't really just remove it either, as it is somewhat important later on, as it sets the stage for the relationship between Rin and the MC (no, this does not mean it develops into an actual 'relationship' either)


	2. The Summoning

**The Summoning **_(Three weeks prior)_

In the middle of the night, a student began the summoning.

Last night, Charles was an average teenager.

This morning, he awoke in Japan, within an empty mansion, as a Magus. Knowledge and skills all filled his mind. Things he had never know the day before, things that he could never have known.

"Bare and silver and iron. Stone for foundation and the Great Duke of contracts. My great master Shveinorg for the ancestor. "

The mansion he had woken to was quite spacious, as to be expected. It had all the basic necessities a common person would need, while also possessing uncommon items such as magical texts. Even though he had never been in this mansion, he somehow knew the layout of it and the where everything was located within it.

_It was like I had awoken into someone else's life,_ he thought. Having no memories of how he got here, or having learned these skills, it seemed to be the only explanation. Yet when he looked in the mirror this morning, the usual figure stared back at him.

"A wall for the descending winds. The four gates shall close and come out of the crown. Let the three forked road to the kingdom cycle"

Earlier in the day, he had noticed he even carried a Magic Crest. _No,_ thought Charles, _I knew before I had looked_. It was just another piece of information that was somehow planted into his mind. The layout of the city, the knowledge and ability to cast spells, even the mastery of the Japanese language, all were things that he had not known or had the day before.

"Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Five times for each repetition. Just destroy the enclosed time."

Somehow he even knew that he was recently transferred to Homurahara Gakuen high school. He had no memories of how this process unfolded, but he knew that tomorrow marked the first day at the school. His memory contradicted the own knowledge in his mind. Oddly enough, there were things he knew that contradicted even his new found knowledge.

"I announce."

Charles knew he did not belong here. Not only in this country, but in this world. He understood that he now resided in the city of Fuyuki, but he also knew that that city should not exist. He possessed the ability to cast spells, but he also knew that Magecraft and Magi should not be real. He knew what path has been set for him, and he also realized that he must follow it.

The circle and the two intersecting swords engraved on his arm began to glow as he began the final steps.

"My will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall create my fate. Abiding by the summons of the Holy Grail, if thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me."

A war between powerful magi, who command immortal spirits, all for an omnipotent wish granting device. The Holy Grail War. This was the war that he now found himself thrown into. Unlike most of the other participants, however, he knew the truth behind the Grail.

"I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world."

Even more, he knew how the war would end. To be exact, he knew three possible endings, and all the events that could follow up to them. _Yet my appearance will change everything, _he realized to himself. The war would take an unexpected turn.

"I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world."

After confirming his suspicions by walking through the streets of the city, he had spent the day reading texts preparing for this moment. The floor, walls, bookshelves, and everything else within the room were now alit with a blue hue. The artifact he had found atop one of the desks was now within the middle of the summoning circle, the emitter of the blue light.

"Thou, clad with the Great Trinity, come forth from the circle of constraint, threatener of balance!"

As the circle began its final task, Charles's vision became impaired. As it returned, the room returned to its usual colour. In the middle of the summoning circle stood a person wearing a hooded robe. The robe itself was grey, but it was lined with multiple red and gold detailing along the sides. The person was clearly a man of strong build, but his facial features were hidden, making it impossible for Charles to see what he looked like.

"So, are you my employer?" asked the robed figure as he removed his hood. Black hair of medium length covered his head. A faint beard could be seen on his chin. His face looked young, and he looked to be somewhere in his early twenties.

Shocked by both his words and the sight that just appeared before his eyes, Charles somehow managed a reply.

"No. I'm your master."

Sighing, the robed man replied. "An Assassin has no master, only employers. If that is what I must call you, however, so be it. The contract has been formed."

Assassin. _Yes, that makes sense. _Assassin was the only servant to not be summoned properly in the war. It was only natural that the servant he would summon would replace that improper spirit.

"So you are one of the nineteen who took the name of Hassan-i Sabbah, I presume?"

Any servant summoned under the class name of Assassin should share that name. The Assassin summoned in this war would have been an exception, but he had already prevented that from happening.

"No." Assassin retorted, while smiling. "I am not."

Taken back, Charles barely managed a reply. "Then who are you?"

The other Assassin was only an exception to the rule. It should be impossible for a normal Magus to break it. However, he did find it odd that he had found catalyst in the mansion. The class name of Assassin is usually the catalyst to summon Hassan. Earlier in the day, however, he had found an artifact, that with his implanted knowledge, he knew to be the catalyst he was to use. A piece of gray cloth lined with a golden strand. Hardly something befit for an Assassin.

"I could hardly be considered an Assassin if I were to so easily give up my identity."

"I am your master. If I do not know what heroic spirit you are, I can't properly plan our moves."

Still smiling, Assassin opened his mouth once again. "I do not think a name will help much in your plans. If you want to know about my abilities, I can easily tell you. Otherwise, if you want my identity so much, use one of your command spells."

_This is troubling, _he thought to himself. This servant is clearly not going to be easy to control. Using a command spell on a trivial matter such as this would only be a mistake.

Before he could open his mouth to reply, Assassin continued.

"For starters, I will tell you one of the abilities I possess."

"It is called Concealment Aura. As long as I am close to you, be it in spirit or physical form, I will be able to share my ability of Presence Concealment with you. Not only will prevent you from being able to be detected magically, it will also hide your command seal from view. However, it is not foolproof. If a powerful enough magus were to focus their attention on you, it is quite possible they would be able to see through the ruse."

As if he found it funny, Assassin began to laugh. "Truthfully, it is not very useful. Do not fret, however. It is not the only ability I possess."

Walking past Assassin, Charles lied on the bed. Smiling, he replied.

"I wouldn't be so hasty. Your ability will definitely come in handy."

He had thought that earlier he would have needed to skip school. There was only one person who he would have to worry about detecting him, but now he should be safe. This ability should able to hide him from her. _And it has given me an interesting idea_. Closing his eyes, he embraced his fatigue.


	3. The Blue Spearman of the Wind

**The Blue Spearman of the Wind **_(One week prior)_

In the streets of Fuyuki, a single student is seen walking through the night.

_One more week,_ he thought to himself. The past two weeks had been more tiring that he had first thought they would. Rin was a much bigger hassle that he had expected, and maintaining his outward appearance was quite hard.

Assassin had questioned the logic behind getting involved with another Magus at the school, but Charles had gone through with it anyways. When he had found out he was to be in Rin's class, it was the only solution. Avoiding her, or even simply acting like a normal student, could easily raise suspicions. A transfer student coming a few weeks before the Grail War would not get unnoticed by her. If a single thought went into her mind that he was suspicious, she would easily find out the truth and it would all be over.

The solution was simple, and a direct one. By involving himself with her, he lowered the chances she would find out. He had to make her feel frustration whenever he was around. The frustration would cloud her judgment, and she wouldn't even have time to think that he could be a Magus.

In the end, the plan had worked, and Assassin was quite surprised.

Tonight, however, would be something far more dangerous. Rubbing his hands together to warm them, Charles broke the silence of the night.

"Assassin, you remember I told you earlier?"

Although no other person was near, a voice replied.

"Yes, of course."

They had spent the past couple nights walking through the streets, hoping to lure a particular Servant to battle. During these nightly walks, after much arguing, Assassin had deactivated his Presence Concealment ability, and Charles took no steps in hiding his magical presence. Perhaps it was because it appeared so obvious, but no Servant had come to their call. While it was dangerous to do this as other Masters could be lurking about, it was the only way to avoid an attack when they were unprepared.

He did not expect that Assassin would be able to match the Servant that would ambush them. Assassins are meant to target Masters, not Servants. Even still, going after the Master of this Servant would be suicide. Since it was a guarantee that they would eventually be attacked, he wanted to get it over with.

Early on he had decided to not try and alter the events too much. The more he changed, the less he would be able to predict. Some changes would unavoidable, of that there was no doubt, but anything that could be avoided was for the best.

It was only one more week until the war would truly begin. Only two more Servants remained to be summoned, but once the week was up that would no longer be true.

"So, do you two just enjoy moonlight walks, or do you really want to die?"

Lost in thought, Charles realized that there was now a figure standing a few meters in front of him. He wore a suit that was primarily blue with silver linings, and had silver shoulder guards on. His hair was also blue, and he wore silver earrings. His red eyes glared at Charles, and somehow the figure felt more beast than man. _Lancer._

Assassin had already materialized before he could reply, and was now standing in front of Charles. In his hands was now a medium length, double edged, broad sword, which glowed in the moonlight. Near the handle was a golden, rosette patterned, basket-shaped guard. The pommel of the sword was shaped in the form of a cat head, and had a purple gemstone planted in the middle of it.

"I am quite tired of waiting," Assassin announced.

In response to the materialization of Assassin, Lancer was now armed with his distinctive red spear. Under normal circumstances Charles would have been afraid, but this was not a normal fight. This fight was only a test; Lancer should not activate the full power of his weapon tonight.

"Well, I've walked into your trap. Let's hope you aren't a disappointment."

With that, Lancer charged for Assassin. Assassin met his initial blow with a quick parry, and veered off to the side. Lancer quickly followed and went in for his second strike. The attack was met with the same defense, and Assassin continued to fall back.

A couple nights ago, when they started doing these midnight walks, Charles had given him specific orders. He had told Assassin that when a Servant came to answer their challenge, to be on the defensive, and to avoid showing his true strength unless absolutely necessary.

Assassin believed it to be because Charles wanted to determine the other Servant's strength, but in reality, it was the opposite. Lancer was only here to test an enemy's Servant's strength, and he did want Assassin to give away too much. He had hid this fact from him because Charles doubted Assassin would understand. Based on his personality, it was far too risky to give him the truth behind the fate of this war.

While the battle continued, Charles realized it could hardly be considered a "battle". Lancer, who was continuing to barrage Assassin with attacks, was clearly becoming frustrated. Assassin had made no move to attack, and was simply _dodging_ Lancer's attacks, with an occasional parry.

Still, Lancer continued his assault. Both Servants were moving at incredible speeds, and it almost looked as if they were dancing. Lancer is a class that is normally occupied by the fastest of heroes, and this Lancer was one of the quickest. Yet Assassin met his speed, and continued to avoid his attacks as if they were nothing.

Suddenly, Lancer stopped his offensive.

"What the hell is this? You offered a challenge to fight, but now all you do is retreat?"

Both Servants had moved quite far from their original starting point. Assassin had positioned himself so he was still in front of Charles. Even though Charles couldn't see Assassin's face, he knew that Assassin must have been smiling.

"Tired already?"

In response, Lancer chuckled.

"Of course not. I'm just a bit pissed. Based on your fight style, you obviously aren't Saber. You're Assassin, aren't you? Why would you two even bother attracting attention to yourselves?"

Turning his gaze from his opponent, Lancer glared at Charles.

"Do you have a death wish?"

Habitually, Assassin replied before Charles could answer.

"My Master has a tendency to act recklessly, and often ignores my advice, but I do not think he does. The better question is: do you?"

Lancer began to laugh. Instead of replying with words, he spun his spear and went into a combat stance.

Assassin readied his blade once again.

After a few seconds, the two charged at one another. As Lancer began his onslaught of strikes, Assassin instinctively started to go into defense. Charles knew that Assassin stood no chance again him. Even if he could manage to drag the fight out by blocking and dodging his attacks, eventually, Lancer would gain the upper hand. Truthfully it made no difference, as Lancer would not take the killing blow today, but it did not bode well for the future.

Assassin, parrying another one of Lancer's blows, jumped back. The two Servants stood staring at one another, as their weapons glistened in the moonlight.

Assassin broke the silence.

"If you wish for this fight to end, why not use your Noble Phantasm?"

Charles froze. He had realized that Assassin was quite rash, but he had not expected him to ask something like that. Lancer's Noble Phantasm was one that could not be avoided. The only way to win against it was to not allow Lancer to use it. Charles had not told Assassin this, as there was no reason Lancer would use it this fight. _There still should be no reason,_ he reassuringly thought.

"To tell you the truth, my Master is a coward. I'm not here to kill you today. And trust me, if I was to use my Noble Phantasm, you would be dead."

Readying his weapon once again, Assassin replied.

"If you are here to test me, then use it. Don't worry, I will not die. I just do not want you to return to your Master having failed your duty. It would be quite embarrassing."

Although the darkness s shrouded most of Lancer's face, Charles swore he could see him grinning.

"Since you seem so confident, I'll take you up on your offer. At least I'll have an excuse for when you end up dead on the ground."

At that moment, Lancer lowered his stance. A chill ran through the air.

This was not good. Calling for Assassin would be pointless. Even attempting to use a Command Spell at this point would be futile. Once Lancer begins his attack, there would be no stopping it. Assassin would die, and his fight would be over.

Charles could see a purple glow emitting from Assassin's blade. Lancer did not seem to care, and was still grinning. There was no reason for him to care, as the battle was already won.

"See ya. You shouldn't have underestimated me."

As if teleporting, Lancer instantly appeared in front of Assassin. He thrust his lance at Assassin's feet.

Assassins jumped off to the side to avoid the spear. His sword was now engulfed in a purple light. He made no move to counter attack. The light from the sword reflected upon his face, and Charles realized that Assassin was smiling.

"Gae… Bolg!"

The lance that was aiming for Assassin's feet suddenly moved at an impossible angle, aimed right at Assassin's heart.

The clashing of weapons is heard.

Charles could not believe his eyes. Assassin had blocked his attack.

Lancer jumped back to where he originally was before his attack. His red eyes glared at Assassin. The bestial aura surrounding Lancer seemed to grow stronger.

"Blocked? That shouldn't even be possible."

Assassin stood in the same spot where he had blocked Lancer's Gae Bolg. His weapon was back to its original colour. He did not appear to be injured.

"Perhaps today isn't your lucky day, Cú Chulainn."

"I don't know how you survived that attack." Lancer replied, more spitting than speaking. "No matter how strong your Noble Phantasm was, it shouldn't have been able to block my Gae Bolg."

Gae Bolg was supposed to be unavoidable. It was an always fatal move; one that reversed the meaning of "cause and effect". Charles had certainly seen it avoided and blocked before, but never in this fashion. Assassin had barely moved. His blade had simply touched Gae Bolg, and it was over.

"Yet it did."

The fury that was emitting from Lancer died down. Clucking his tongue in annoyance, he spoke once more.

"Well, it appears you were right. Using my Noble Phantasm was a good test of your ability. Next time, however, you won't be as lucky. Sadly, my Master is ordering me to retreat, so we won't be able to continue our fight."

With that, Lancer turned his back and jumped onto a nearby house, and disappeared from sight.

Assassin walked over to Charles. His weapon was already dematerialized, and he was still smiling. Charles opened his mouth to question him.

"What was that? Who are you?"

Assassin sighed.

"When the time comes, I'll tell you. We should leave before another Servant comes."

No matter how frustrating Assassin was, he was right about them still being in danger. There was still plenty of time before the war began to learn more about Assassin. Putting the questions into the back of his mind, Charles headed back to the mansion.


	4. A Guilty Conscience

**A Guilty Conscience** _(3rd day)_

Looking down at the empty street, Charles sighed. The cold brought upon by the night was getting to him. Assassin had already confirmed that the targets were returning from the Church; it was only a matter of time.

Turning his head, he glanced at Assassin who was crouching quietly beside him on the rooftop of the house. It had been a week since his fight with Lancer, and Charles had learned absolutely nothing about him. Whenever Charles had questioned about his ability, he merely shrugged it off and would state that he'd 'explain when the time was right'. When asked about his identity, he would laugh it off it and say it doesn't matter. He knew Assassin was trying to hide these things; he just didn't know why.

Charles could not understand Assassin. Assassin seemed to be carefree, and often joked about things that should be taken seriously. Yet there were times where he would become cold and distant. Although Assassin laughed whenever asked about his identity, Charles knew that it was not the same laugh he usually had. It felt forced. As if he was trying to forget something.

It was clear that Assassin had a wish that he wanted to be fulfilled. Assassin often questioned Charles' plans, sometimes even in a joking manner. Yet it was not because Assassin did not care, it was actually the opposite. He wanted the Grail, and was not going to allow an incompetent Master take it away from him. At the moment Assassin seemed pleased with his Master, but Charles was slightly worried as to what the future would hold.

Still looking at Assassin, Charles sighed. No matter how hard Assassin worked, no matter what he was willing to do to obtain victory, it would be futile. The Grail would not grant his wish. A pain stemmed from guilt began to overcome Charles. Although he knew the truth of the Grail, he would never be able to tell Assassin until it was too late. While Assassin would dissipate in the end, it would be not before his hopes and dreams were shattered first.

"They're coming."

Coming back into reality, he realized Assassin was looking at him. Most of their conversations were done while Assassin was in spirit form, but tonight Assassin was materialized, just to be on the safe side. He had somehow forgotten this fact.

Returning his gaze back to the street, he realized it was no longer empty. At the top of the hill stood a little girl, with something that appeared to be more monster than man behind her. The bottom of the street was now occupied by three figures, two females and one male.

Suddenly, the monstrosity leapt towards the other group, and one of the females, now clad in blue, jumped to meet him.

Looking around, Charles could see no shades of red anywhere. _Archer isn't here_. Archer must have been injured by Saber. A weight lifted off his shoulders when he came to this realization. Dealing with Archer would have been troublesome. Not only that, since Archer was injured, it meant that there was a good chance Rin would ally with Shirou. This was good news.

"Well, you probably were right about one of the Servants being injured. What should we do next? The winner of this fight is obvious. Once the fight is over, should we take a chance and ambush the little girl? I think I could do it before that… _thing_ realizes what is happening."

They had only come here to see if Archer was injured by Saber. Since they have found out the answer, there was no use standing here to watch the fight. Yet Charles could not look away.

As the battle continued, he couldn't help but feel that it was incredibly surreal. While he had conversed with Rin and observed the fight between Assassin and Lancer, this was entirely different. He was watching an event that had only existed in fiction a few weeks ago. This was unlike the other times, as he knew the beginning, the middle, and the end of it. An immense sensation of déjà vu began to overcome him.

Since the day he awoke in this world, he had never really come to terms with what had happened. But watching this dreamlike scene made him finally realize what situation he was in. His friends, his family, his old life: all of that was likely lost forever. The happiness that he had known was gone, and it was replaced with this.

The only thing that pushed him forward was his goal to destroy the Grail. But there was no point in having a goal like that. The fate of this war had already been decided before he had joined. If he had simply stayed out of the war, the Grail would have eventually been destroyed anyways. He had simply used his goal as a way to escape the horror of the situation he was in. He knew it was likely that the Grail had played a part in his appearance in this world, and he wanted revenge. By focusing his mind on his revenge, it allowed him to ignore everything else.

Turning his gaze, he looked at the two figures standing near the battle. Those two would go through the trials ahead, overcoming all obstacles. They would suffer through much pain, but in the end, they would succeed and become better people for it. They were guaranteed happy endings. _No, _He realized. _That isn't true. Not anymore._ A guilty pain once again began to overcome his body.

The happy endings that awaited those two were no longer guaranteed. They had been taken away, and were replaced with a fate that was uncertain. _And I am the reason why._ he knew that his appearance in the war had changed everything. In his petty quest for revenge against the Grail, he had taken away the same things from them as the Grail had taken from him.

There was only one difference: their fate could still be changed.

At that moment, a roar echoed through the air. The girl in blue had just taken a hit that was impossible to block. Before the final blow could be struck, the male figure behind her jumped to her aid.

As Charles continued to watch, he began to speak aloud.

"Assassin, once the two at the top of the hill leave, we are jumping down there."

Raising his voice, he continued.

"You are not to attack under any circumstance. Those three people down there are going to become our allies. Even if Saber or the other Master attacks, you are only to defend."

When no reply came, his voice became a yell.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Turning his head, he looked at Assassin. The face that stared back at him was not that usual carefree face, nor was it the face that Assassin sometimes took when he asked for his identity. It was one full of hostility.

The tension in the air had become incredibly thick. He had not intended to yell. The overflow of emotions had overcome him, and he had not been able to control the tone of his voice.

Within a few seconds, Assassin's face returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. Sighing, he replied.

"I understand."

With that, Charles looked back at the scene. The little girl and her Servant were already gone. Realizing that, he jumped from the rooftop, and Assassin followed quickly behind.

Using his magecraft to slow his fall, Charles landed a few meters away from the three figures. Opening his mouth, he spoke.

"Do not worry."

The female in red raised her head from the gruesome scene to look in his direction. As she stared at him, Charles started to walk towards her.

"He will be okay. We should hurry and get him out of here."

When she realized who he was, he swore he saw her face contort in frustration.

"Sennett?! Why are you here?"

Charles saw Rin stand up, and she looked prepared to fight. No matter her personality at school, the Rin that was now looking at him was a Magus, first and foremost. And a Magus must always be prepared to die.

"I've come here to help."

He continued his walk towards Shirou. Looking closer, it was quite a gruesome sight. He had a gaping wound in his chest, and blood was everywhere. Charles felt like throwing up, but he stopped himself. He had devoted himself to maintaining this "cool, calm, and collected" personality, and he could not let the illusion be broken already.

Noticing that Rin was about to reply, he continued talking.

"I do not think we have time to bicker. His injuries are severe, and there is no telling who else was watching this fight. We should hurry and get him out of here."

Although she did not lower her guard, it was clear that she knew that what he was saying was true. She allowed him to get close enough to Shirou, but she looked prepared to attack at a moment's notice.

As Charles knelt down to pick Shirou's body up, he saw something move in the corner of his eyes, so he stopped. Saber was in combat stance, and looked prepared to attack, despite her injuries and the presence of Assassin.

"I will not let you touch my Master."

Before Charles could respond to her declaration, Rin spoke.

"Saber, he is right." Turning her gaze to Assassin, she continued. "Besides, I don't think we have much of a choice."

* * *

The room was quiet. Shirou, still wounded and unconscious, was lying on his futon.

Charles was standing close to him, and was doing his best to provide healing. He understood it to be pointless, but it eased the tense Saber, who was watching intently close by. She had been tense since he had offered his aid, but once he had begun healing Shirou she had lowered her guard.

He noticed that Saber was looking at her Master with sad eyes. Charles knew that she was must be feeling as if she had failed. He wanted to comfort her, but knew it would do more harm than good.

Assassin was sitting in the room that would soon be Saber's. Charles had wanted to send him back to the mansion, or make him go into spirit form, but he knew it would backfire. Seeing as the Assassin class can hide undetected, both Saber and Rin would quickly become suspicious had he done that. Instead, he wanted Assassin to be in clear sight at all times.

At that moment, Rin returned with some bandages. As she entered the room, she looked down at Shirou.

"I've gotten the bandages. We should hurry and patch hi—wait, what did you do? He looks almost healed!"

Charles looked back at Shirou. Rin's words were rung true; his wounds were almost completely fixed. Yet he had done nothing but attempt to speed up the process.

"I did not do anything. His body healed itself."

Rin looked shocked, but he did not bother to elaborate. She would eventually come up with her own explanation, even if it would be a wrong one. Explaining now would be pointless. Moving aside, Charles allowed Rin room so she could bandage Shirou's body.

After a few minutes, Rin finished patching Shirou up.

Once she was done, Charles stood up. After motioning to Assassin to follow, he began to move towards the exit of the room. The night was over, and staying any longer would get him nowhere. Tomorrow would be the next step of the plan.

"I'll be going now. You should probably check on him in the morning, just to make sure he is okay."

As he entered the hallway, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Why did you help him?"

He recognized the voice of Rin, and stopped. Surprisingly, there was none of the usual coldness in her voice. It was not the Magus that was asking him, or the angry Rin that he often encountered, but the soft Rin that he had heard very few times since he had come to this world.

Looking back, there were many answers he could have given her. He could have lied and told her he expected a reward. Perhaps he could have simply stated that he did not know the reason. He could've even walked away, not bothering to give a reply. Instead, he told her the truth.

"I did not want to see him hurt."

Leaving Rin to stare surprised at his answer, he continued walking. After exiting the house, both he and Assassin headed back to the mansion.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **Hope you guys have been enjoying it so far. This is really one of the first times I've actually written for fun, and it has actually been quite entertaining so far.

If you have anything you'd like to ask, or any advice to give, feel free to post a review or whatever (just joined this site, don't really know everything yet). The next chapters are probably going to be harder to write, simply because I'm going to have to try and capture the personalities of all the rest of the characters in the Fifth Grail War. I've already done Lancer, but next chapter I'll have to do Shirou, Saber, and Rin, so it'll be kinda hard. Also, about Lancer, I'd like to hear your opinions about whether or not I did a good job with him. I was using the visual novel as a reference point to try and capture his personality, but if you think I did a poor job, please tell me.

I take all criticism, as long as it is constructive (aka give reasons why, don't just say it was shit). Either actual writing (grammar and stuff) or plot stuff (portraying a character badly, or maybe magic-related stuff as it is kinda confusing and I'll probably write something that isn't even possible in lore by accident).


	5. The Alliance

**The Alliance **_(4th day)_

The afternoon sun shone down on Charles as he walked through the streets of Fuyuki. As he got to the intersection, he crossed over into the section of Miyama where the old Japanese-style houses are located.

Up ahead, he noticed a girl in red, carrying a large bag. Happy that he managed to get the timing perfect, he called out to her.

"Hey, Tohsaka! Wait up!"

Usually when he called out to her like that she would either ignore him or get annoyed with him. This time, however, was different.

As soon she heard his voice, he saw her drop her bag. As she turned to look at him, Charles could see that her face had a stern look to it. There was none of the softness that he had heard from their last conversation. He had known she would act this way, but he couldn't help but feel a chill run up his spine.

"Tohsaka, calm down. It's the middle of the day; you shouldn't be so worried."

Although she did not lower her guard, he continued to walk towards her.

From Rin's point of view, he was nothing but an enemy that must be dealt with. It wasn't surprising that she would be so tense, but he knew there was something else that was influencing her attitude. It was likely she had some sort of misconception about him, and he would need to set her straight before continuing.

He managed to get within normal talking distance with her without getting attacked. He continued his one-sided conversation.

"I'm not the one who put the boundary field around the school. As I doubt you or Emiya are the culprit, there must be another Master at our school."

She appeared surprised, but the tenseness in her face did not disappear. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"And why should I believe you?"

He knew she was right to be suspicious, of course. Rin had known there was another Master at the school, one that did not give any signs of being a Magus. Since she had found out that he was a Master, it was obvious she had realized he had been hiding his magical presence as well. The likelihood of another Master being at the school was slim, so he was the most likely culprit.

He did not feel it was right to unveil the rest of the Masters yet, and doubted she would believe him anyway, so he lied to her.

"I'm not sure. I have yet to find the other Master, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Anyways, where are you headed?"

Even though she did not seem convinced, she did loosen up a little, and she picked her bag. Charles could see that she wasn't going to tell him where she was going, even though he already knew. After a few seconds of silence, he started to walk past her, while talking at the same time.

"Well, I'm headed to Emiya's house. See you later."

As he heard Rin running to catch up with him, he smiled.

"What are you going to do there?" she replied, obviously frustrated. "Do you think he is going to let an enemy Master go into his home?"

Still smiling, he responded.

"Who says I'm his enemy?"

Ignoring her surprised reaction, Charles continued his walk up the street. Once he got to the entrance to the Emiya residence, he turned to Rin.

"So, why exactly did you follow me?"

Clearly annoyed, she replied.

"I didn't follow you. Emiya and I have formed an alliance."

Unfazed, Charles walked through the gate. Confused at his reaction, Rin followed. Once he reached the door, he opened it and let Rin enter first. He followed shortly afterwards.

Glancing down at her bag, he opened his mouth.

"As you seem rather close to Emiya, I trust he won't mind that we entered without his permission, correct?"

Though she looked irritated, she made no reply, and they began walking down the hallway. Once they reached the living room, Charles went through the entrance and began to sit down.

"Since you know this place so well, I'll wait here while you get him."

As Rin left in a hurry, Charles began to look over the room. He had not stepped foot in it last night, and it began to give him the familiar surreal feeling. Everything looked exactly how he had expected it to. The kitchen, the table, even the yellow flowers in the vase: everything was there, in the proper spots. The feeling of déjà vu returned.

After a few minutes, Rin returned with Shirou and Saber. After standing up, Charles began speaking.

"Hello Emiya, I am sorry for intruding. My name is Charles Sennett, though I would prefer you just call me Charles. I am classmate of Tohsaka's. It is nice to meet you."

In contrast to Rin's frustrated face and Saber's hostile stare, Shirou merely scratched his head and replied.

"Uh, it is nice to meet you as well. I guess you can just call me Shirou."

Completely oblivious to the attitude of the others beside him, Shirou walked over to the table and sat down. Rin and Saber followed shortly after. After sitting down, Shirou continued speaking.

"Tohsaka said you wanted to speak to me about something."

"I suppose she hasn't explained who I am, has she?"

With a questioning look, Shirou turned to Tohsaka.

"Tohsaka, what is he talking about?"

Sighing, Rin responded. "He is a Magus, a Master, and also our enemy." As if it was painful to mention, she continued, although in a much quieter voice. "He also helped carry you home after you went unconscious last night."

"What!? You never mentioned anybody else!"

"I didn't think it was necessary, okay!?"

Charles couldn't help but smile at their conversation. Although the surreal feeling lingered, he began to feel more comfortable with it.

Shirou turned his head in Charles' direction while smiling.

"Even though you're apparently our enemy, thanks."

Opening his mouth, Charles began the first step of his plan.

"About that… I'd like to join your alliance."

All three of them looked surprised, though both Rin and Saber's faces showed immediate signs of distrust. As if she needed to be answer before Shirou replied, Rin began speaking in a serious tone.

"Absolutely not. You are lucky we even allowed you in here."

The flat out refusal was to be expected. Yet he knew he could not give up.

"We all saw Berserker last night. I have zero chance of being able to defeat him without your help. Besides, the possibility that you two can even defeat him is slim. You need all the help you can get."

Not convinced, Rin continued, getting even angrier.

"How are we supposed to trust you? Your Servant is an Assassin, a Servant that specializes in killing Masters. This could easily be a ruse so you could backstab us."

"It is only natural you are worried. Hopefully I will be able to convince you otherwise. Assassin, please join us."

With that, Assassin materialized beside Charles, already sitting. In reaction, Saber instantly stood up and looked prepared for battle. Shirou's face was full of surprise, though there was no clear hostility in it. Rin already anxious face grew even more anxious.

"There is nothing to be worried about. He is only here to show that I will not betray you."

Charles looked down at his three Commands Seals. He knew they would be pivotal to maintaining control of Assassin, but he would not be able to earn Rin or Saber's trust without doing this. Looking directly at Assassin, he began to speak his command.

"Assassin. If I betray Tohsaka or Shirou, I order you to kill me."

He began to feel a throbbing pain coming from his hand. Glancing down, one of the swords on his hand had faded away. The intersecting sword and the circle remained.

He could hear gasps coming from Rin and Saber's direction. Looking up, Rin seemed quite angry.

"What are you doing? Why would you waste a Command Spell on something stupid like that? It is such a general order, it is doubtful your Servant would even follow it when the time comes."

He couldn't help but smile at the irony, which only seemed to further anger Rin. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Assassin replied with a cold voice.

"I would not worry. Even without the power of the Command Spell, I would still carry out his order. If he attempts to betray either you, I swear I will kill him where he stands."

Charles could feel there was no hostility in Assassin's voice. It was not a statement out of spite; it was simply a declaration. Still, he was surprised. He had not told Assassin to say that, it seemed to be words that were coming straight from his heart.

Before anyone else could respond, Saber spoke for the first time, with a spiteful voice.

"The word of an Assassin means nothing."

He turned to look at Assassin's face. Surprisingly, it showed no signs of anger. Assassin made no attempt to reply, only frowning at Saber's comment. Somehow it felt like Assassin believed that what Saber had said was true. Charles couldn't help but be reminded of the same face Assassin had while questioned about his identity.

Attempting to break the tension, Shirou spoke.

"I'm not sure I understand this whole Command Spell deal, but I don't see the problem. If Charles wants to ally with us, I'm okay with it. We could use his help."

Although both Saber and Rin attempted to speak in protest, Shirou continued.

"I mean, he already helped me once. The least I can do is return the favour."

Hearing the words that he had been waiting for, Charles stood up. After thanking both Rin and Shirou, he said his goodbyes and left the room with Assassin. He could still hear their bickering as he walked down the hallway to the entrance. Smiling, he exited the house.

Although he doubted things would go as smoothly in the future, he still felt satisfied. By joining the war he had changed much, but he would not allow his mistake to take away the happy endings from the ones who deserved them most. He had altered fate, but nothing would stop him from balancing it once again. No matter what, the Grail would not succeed.

As the afternoon sun continued to shine down upon him, he headed back to the mansion.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **This was a pretty hard chapter to write. I'm pretty horrible at dialogue and getting it to flow with the story. If you have any critique to give, I'd appreciate any. Would also love to know if I did a a good job if I did a good job capturing the character's personalities. Thanks for reading.


	6. Rooftop Date

**Rooftop Date **_(5th day)_

As the bell rang for lunch, some students headed to the cafeteria, while others started grouping up to eat in the class. As Charles did not bother to make his own, he got up to go and buy one.

Before leaving the room, he turned his head back to where Rin was sitting. She had told him they were going to have a meeting on the rooftop, but she was still putting her stuff away.

As he stood there looking at her, she turned her head and noticed him. Smiling, he waved his hand and left the class, leaving Rin to act like her usual self. Shad loosened up compared to yesterday, to his surprise. Perhaps it was because they were at school, but she did not seem to be as serious and tense as she was during their conversation at Shirou's house.

After buying something from the vending machine, Charles headed towards the rooftop. Holding an extra milk tea in his hands, he went up the stairs to the fourth floor. Before he could continue his ascent, he noticed Shirou talking with a first year student who had purple hair.

_Sakura. _A chill ran up his spine at the mere thought of her name. It was the first time he had actually laid eyes on her, and an uneasy feeling began to develop inside him. Based on the events that had transpired so far, it was unlikely she would play a role in the future. However, there was always a possibility.

The familiar guilt within him continued to increase. He had forgotten about her. Even still, he knew that his actions would not be able to bring her happiness. The only person truly capable of helping her was Shirou. No matter what actions he took, Charles would never be able to give her the happiness she so deserved. Attempting to help her would only lead to unforeseeable events, events that would likely lead to a much worse future than the future that would occur by simply leaving her be.

Although he knew it would be impossible to give her a perfect ending, he realized he could not let her simply suffer. There were ways he could grant her freedom from Zouken without completely altering future events. But that would have to wait.

Pushing the guilt back inside him, he continued up the stairs. After he reached the entrance to the rooftop, he opened the door, and was immediately met with an angry voice.

"You're late! What are you so slow for?"

Rin stood in front of him, shivering, and appeared quite angry. Putting on the usual mask, Charles smiled and replied.

"Sorry about that." He walked over to Rin and stuck out his hand. "Here, take this as an apology."

Her face showed signs of conflicting emotions. After snatching the milk tea out of his hands, she spoke.

"…thanks. This doesn't make up for making me wait, though."

He ignored her remark and walked past her and sat down in the secluded spot of the rooftop.

"We should sit down while we wait for Shirou.", he said, after opening the bread he had bought.

Although she still seemed frustrated, Rin didn't reply and went to go sit near him. After sitting down, she opened her milk tea, and began sipping it to warm herself up.

Minutes passed, with the wind being the only thing to prevent it from being completely silent. Charles had finished his bread a while ago, and Rin was almost done her tea. It was obvious Shirou had forgotten, and Rin appeared to be getting angrier by the minute. In an effort to both calm her down and try to get his mind off how cold it was, Charles spoke.

"I don't think Shirou is coming. We might as well start the meeting."

Rin looked up from her drink and stared at him with fiery eyes. He quickly realized he had made a mistake.

"Are you stupid? The whole point of the meeting was to tell Emiya about the boundary field surrounding the school. There is no point if he isn't here."

"I'm surprised, Tohsaka. You'd let someone you suspect might be behind the field come to a meeting about it?"

To his surprise, she did not appear to react negatively to his comment. If anything, she seemed to loosen up.

"Well, you're our ally," she replied, with a soft voice. "Besides, I don't think you're behind it anyway."

He had expected her to come to this revelation soon enough, so he couldn't help but smile at her response.

"Oh? And what made you have a change of heart?"

After putting her tea down beside her, she began.

"You aren't skilled enough to have created it. I'm surprised you were able to hide your magical presence from me for so long, as the power you have is something I should have noticed, but you still aren't skilled enough to have created the boundary field. Unless you are somehow still managing to hide your power from me."

She looked at him with suspicious eyes. She was right about his ability; the skills he were given were hardly anything to brag about. He guessed that his talent was comparable to the average student studying at Clock Tower. He could certainly do the basics, and appeared to have a certain affinity for wind, but that was about it.

However, she was wrong about the second part. Assassin's ability was like a cloak. It only covered up his magical presence. Once it was revealed, it was useless. Considering Rin had realized he was a Magus already, he wouldn't be able to hide anything anymore. From her, at least.

"I could only hide my presence from you because of my Servant's ability. It only hides my presence. Once a magus reveals it, they are able to see everything. To tell you the truth, you were quite careless to not realize I was a Magus sooner."

By looking at her face, he could see that she knew what he said was true. She looked angry, but more at herself than at anyone else. As if she was ignoring his last remark, she continued.

"After looking at your Servant, I doubt he could have created it either. This boundary field is almost at the level of sorcery. Your Assassin appears to have little in magical ability, and it would be impossible for him to have created it. There must be another Master at our school. I doubled checked most of the students here, but I don't sense anything. Besides the other Magus at our school, who I've already confirmed isn't a Master, this other Master probably isn't a Magus. Which means their Servant created it."

"It is good to see we are on the same page." Standing up, Charles continued. "We should probably head back. The bell will probably ring soon."

Rin didn't make any motion to stand, and instead turned her head up to look at him.

"Why did you even come to this country? You aren't very skilled, and have little chance of winning this war. You don't belong here. I've never even heard of the Sennett family. Do you really have a wish that you want to fulfill that badly?"

Charles simply stared at Rin, not being able to respond. His face dropped its usual carefree look, and instead was replaced with one of sorrow. He feared that the mask he had worked so hard to maintain would falter, and did not dare speak. After a few seconds, his mouth began moving without his permission.

"I don't know. I don't even know how I got here."

Rin appeared confused.

"What do you mean?"

Knowing it would only further complicate things, he ignored her question and headed for the door. Before he could make it, he heard her continue speaking.

"If you don't know why you are fighting, what did you mean that night? You don't even know Emiya. Why would you care if he gets hurt?"

Thinking back, he remembered telling her on the night that Berserker fought Saber that he didn't want to see Shirou hurt. He knew that was a moment of weakness, one where he couldn't maintain his mask, quite like a few seconds ago. No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to keep the illusion of being calm and cool intact forever.

Somehow managing to smile, he turned around to face Rin.

"I simply didn't want to see him hurt. If you're wondering, that also applies to you, Tohsaka."

Rin quickly stood up. Her face was filled with the familiar conflicting emotions, and she raised her voice.

"Ar-Are you stupid? Even though we are allies right now, we are going to be enemies eventually."

"So?", he replied, shrugging. "Even when that happens, I will not do anything to harm either of you. I care about you both."

Knowing that only made her more frustrated; he turned back towards the door. He continued speaking while heading towards the entrance.

"You should probably tell Shirou this stuff after school. I'll probably avoid searching for any of the sources of the boundary field, so unless you want me to help, I'll leave that to you two."

Once he got to the door, he opened it. Leaving Rin to her frustration, he walked into the school and headed back to the classroom.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **Again, I welcome any criticism or comments. Plot related or writing related, I'll take anything. This chapter was sorta slow, though it is to be expected because the early days are always slow. Next chapter (or more likely the chapter after next) things will pick up.


	7. An Unexpected Occurrence

**An Unexpected Occurrence **_(6__th__ day)_

The streets of Fuyuki were tinted with an orange hue as the evening sun shined. While walking up the hill to the place that he now called home, Charles noticed Shirou walking down it, towards the intersection. Shirou seemed to be deep in thought and didn't notice his presence, so he called out to him, while waving.

"Hey, Shirou! Why are you over here?"

Shirou stopped and looked up in surprise. When he realized who was speaking to him, he returned the wave and replied.

"Uh, hey. I was just meeting with somebody."

As he already knew the answer to the question, Charles smiled, waved goodbye, and continued walking.

"Ah, I see. Well, see you later."

Before he could pass him, he heard Shirou continue speak once more.

"Do you want to come over to my house for dinner? I could introduce you to my kouhai and my teacher. I don't think they'd mind, considering they've already met Saber and have accepted Tohsaka. I need to tell you and the others something."

Although it sounded fun, Charles had planned to practice his Magecraft some more. He had been given the ability and knowledge to use it, but he knew that he would need to improve if he wanted to use it during a combat situation.

Like most Magi, he had an affinity for a certain element. His specialization was Wind. He could manipulate the air, control static energy, and could alter the speed of objects. Even though he had the talent for it, he still did not possess the experience, which meant he made errors often. There was even a time – to Assassin's amusement - where he had lost control while practicing, which resulted in all the books and items in his room being thrown around. He had been getting better since then, but he still needed more practice.

"I'd love to, but I'm sort of busy. I'll stop by later tonight, but I'll pass on dinner."

"Well, okay. See you later tonight then."

After Shirou waved goodbye, Charles continued on his way back to the mansion. After getting there, he walked through the gate and opened the door. He then headed straight up the stairs nearby and went to his room.

His room, which also served as a workshop, was full of books. Much like everything else in the house, he did not know where they came from, but they were quite useful. They contained knowledge of many things he had never even known about the world of Magi and he had taken to reading them when bored.

Dropping his bag by the entrance to his room, he went over to his desk, sat down, and opened up the tome that was lying on the desk. It contained information about the Holy Grail War. The origin, rules, history of the past wars; all were within the book.

Charles had known much of the information in it already, so most of it was useless. The detailed retellings of the past Holy Grail Wars were the only true thing of importance. The Fourth War was the only war he knew exactly what had happened, he only knew details about the other three wars, and so reading detailed information about what had happened during them was quite interesting.

For the most part, he only read the book out of curiosity. However, he also wanted to know as much as possible about the Grail and the past wars. No matter how he looked at it, the Grail was the reason why he was here. The things within the mansion, the knowledge planted in his head, the preparations already made for him… everything was set from the start for him to join the war. Whether he was summoned by the Grail itself, or another Magus, it was undeniable that the purpose of his appearance was to enter the war. Because of this, he wanted to know everything he could about the events of the past wars, and any information about the Grail that he had not already known. All of this could potentially lead to both why and how he was summoned.

There was always the possibility that his past life was simply a fake, and that the world he now lived in was the only world that existed. He had come up with an idea that his memory had perhaps been altered, but he preferred not to think about that. Even if he were to be stuck here forever, he would never simply forget the family and friends he once had.

After reading some more about the third war, he had practiced more of his Magecraft. After a couple hours, he heard a voice within the room.

"Don't you think we should get going soon?"

Turning around, Charles noticed Assassin sitting on his bed casually. The large window behind Assassin showed a black night sky.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

After putting away the items he was manipulating, Charles headed downstairs and exited the house. Based on how dark it was, he guessed that Taiga and Sakura would have left by now. With that knowledge in mind, he quickly went down the hill and headed towards Shirou's house.

When he got there, he opened the door and headed for the living room. As he predicted, only Tohsaka, Saber, and Shirou were within the room. When the denizens of the room realized he was there, the reactions were ones he had gotten used to. Saber tensed up, although not as bad as the meeting two days ago. Rin looked angry, probably angrier than usual. Shirou, again clueless to reactions of those around him, just smiled.

As Charles was about to speak, Rin interrupted him.

"Late again. If you don't take this more seriously, there won't even be a next time."

"Sorry about that," he replied, while moving to sit down. "I lost track of time." Turning his head to Shirou, he continued. "Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell us?"

"…It's about the other Masters."

Shirou began his explanation, detailing how he met with Shinji. As Charles knew all of what Shirou had to say already, he stayed quiet while the others talked. Besides Shirou giving extra information to Charles about who Shinji was, the conversation played out exactly like the one he had known.

Afterwards, Shirou began talking about the other Master at Ryudou Temple. Again, Charles stayed quiet while Shirou gave his explanation. However, when Rin rejected Saber's proposal to move into action, she turned to him.

"What about you? You haven't said a word all night. Are you even going to work with us or are you just going to listen to our conversations?"

"I'm going to have to agree with you. It would be too risky to attack with this little of information. We should try and find more about the Master and their Servant before we make any plans."

Rin didn't look satisfied, and Saber stared at him with suspicious eyes. Nonetheless, Saber turned to Shirou to see what he had to say. Charles followed suit.

Early on, Charles had toyed with the idea that Shirou might not follow the path Charles predicted he would. Even though there were only a few 'good' endings, it was always possible that the Shirou that now sat before him was not the Shirou that could obtain one of those endings. There was always a chance he would make a stupid decision, one which result in his death.

He had shot down that idea after some thought. Somehow he knew that if Shirou would have gotten himself killed without his interference, he wouldn't have been summoned into this world in the first place. Shirou's response to Saber's question was further proof of this.

"—No, I feel the same way as Tohsaka and Charles. We shouldn't go there yet."

A familiar argument began to unfold before his eyes. It ended the way it had ended before, with Shirou denying Saber's plea to attack. Silence filled the room afterwards.

"I suppose I should leave," said Charles, breaking the silence.

After waving goodbye, he left the awkward atmosphere of the room, and exited the house.

The night was dark, and the empty streets were only illuminated by dim moonlight. The only sound that could be heard was the howling on the wind.

After crossing the intersection, Charles heard a voice.

"You know, I've accepted the fact that you want to ally with those two. However, I do not like that you are shying away from the fight."

He recognized the voice of Assassin. Despite his cold attitude on the night he had helped Shirou, Assassin had gone back to his usual carefree self. Even still, it was clear that Assassin wanted to win the war, and his statement was further proof of that.

When Charles did not reply, Assassin continued.

"You do realize I'm an Assassin, right? We can't simply wait for enemies to come to us. We need to be on the offensive. We should go to Ryudou Temple tonight. Trap or not, it is the only lead we have."

Charles knew Assassin was right. It was clear they needed to on the attack. Yet he still had denied Saber's suggestion. Not out of fear, but out of worry.

The only thing they would find at the top of the mountain was Caster. Ignoring the fact that Caster would be extremely hard to beat as long as she stayed up there, she also was one of the most unpredictable variables of the war.

In the others wars, she had stayed in her Temple until she was ready to act. The reason for this was because she possessed her own Servant, the person summoned to take the place of Sasaki Kojirou, Assassin. He had stayed at the top of the mountain, protecting her from any intruders.

Yet Caster did not have such a tool this time. Charles had taken that away from her by summoning his Assassin, and this was the reason why she would be unpredictable. Without protection, it was likely she had some other trick up her sleeve, or else she wouldn't still be draining the life force from the people of Fuyuki. Not only that, she also possessed a weapon that could change the fate of the war with ease.

Even with all of the risks, Charles knew he had no choice in the matter. He would be facing off against Caster tonight.

"You're right. Even though I don't think it is a good idea, you are not the only one who disagrees with me."

_Saber._ It was unlikely that Charles' appearance had done anything to change her mind about disobeying Shirou, and she would go up to the Temple tonight. He could not let that happen.

Without Kojirou to stop her, she would likely fight Caster. Under normal circumstances, there would be no worry. The Saber class possessed high magic resistance, and even with Caster's increased power, Saber should be able to beat her. Yet the weapon Caster possessed changed everything.

Caster would likely use it on Saber tonight unless Charles did something to stop it. He would either need to stop Saber from going up the mountain by talking with her, or help her defeat Caster. He would prefer the former.

Reaching the mansion, he began to open the gate while speaking to Assassin.

"We are going to wait here for an hour or so, then we'll head to the Tem-"

An instant feeling of nothingness assailed him. The boundary field he had put around the house was gone. If that wasn't enough, there also were multiple sources of magical energy coming from within the house.

As Charles ran towards the door of the house, Assassin instantly materialized in front of him to take the lead. Assassin pushed the door open and was instantly met with slice from a sword. Dodging it, he struck a blow, shattering the assailant to pieces, and then continued into the house.

Charles followed swiftly behind while taking a glance at the attacker's remains. A pile of bones littered the floor. Turning back towards Assassin, he could see Assassin was fighting more enemies. All of them were similar in appearance, and they appeared to be loosely created with multiple bones.

He knew what this meant. Caster had taken the offensive.

Allowing Assassin to fight the ones below, Charles ran up the stairs. A bone golem appeared at the top of the stairs, and he quickly muttered under his breath to send a blast of air in its direction. The bones blew apart, and the construct was no more.

Continuing past the remains, he headed towards his workshop. More bone constructs attempted to halt his advance. Using his Wind Magecraft, he dealt with them in a similar fashion as the one before.

After reaching his room, he witnessed a terrible sight. All of the books that had been in his room were thrown all over, with most of them either destroyed or defaced. The bookshelves themselves were also overturned.

Before he could figure out what it could mean, he heard a rattling sound coming from behind him. Quickly turning around, he shot another air blast, and destroyed the golem that meant to ambush him.

"I'm glad to see that your training paid off."

Assassin had appeared beside him. He had his weapon drawn, and did not appear to be tired or injured.

"You stay here and deal with the constructs," Assassin spoke, while entering the room. "I'm going to deal with the real intruder."

Before Charles could protest, Assassin hastily ran towards the window in the room. He then jumped through it, shattering it to pieces.

Charles swiftly ran towards the window, and looked down at the sight below. The previously empty streets now contained two figures, standing a few meters away from one another. The figure that wore a purple robe was unarmed, whereas the opposing figure, the one wearing a grey robe, was equipped with a double edged broadsword.

The air was full of hostile intent as the two stood in the dark street. Although Charles could hear voices, he could not understand what they were saying. Not only was he on the third floor of the mansion, the wind also prevented him from hearing their conversation.

While looking at the two figures, he saw the one he knew to be Caster move slightly. He could feel something emitting from her, and a feeling of dread came when he realized what it must be. _Rule Breaker._ He had not yet told Assassin about Caster's Noble Phantasm. This was not good.

At that moment, Assassin charged towards Caster.

Knowing that he would not be able to warn Assassin in time, he raised his hand and prepared to use a Command Seal.

An agonizing pain suddenly overcame him. A sharp, bone-like object had just gouged his right shoulder, and it forced his hand down. Before he could comprehend what had happened, he realized the impact had pushed him through the window, and he was now falling towards the street.

Panicking, Charles attempted to manipulate the wind to slow his fall. As he fell, he could feel a throbbing sensation on his hand, which screwed up his concentration. He hit the ground hard.

Lying on the street, his body ached all over, and the unpleasant pain from his shoulder continued. Moving his face from the cold pavement, he looked up to where the fight had been taking place.

Although his vision appeared blurred, he could make out two figures standing beside one another. They both were looking down on him. Cold laughter filled the air.

"It is only fitting that you meet this end. You ruined my original plan, boy, and now you must pay. I would have preferred to keep you alive, but the magical energy coming from you feels... abnormal. I am not going to take any chances."

The female figure raised her hand.

"Assassin, kill him."

Overcome with tiredness, his head fell back to the pavement. He rolled over onto his back to attempt to ease his pain, but felt no difference. After closing his eyes, a thought came to his mind.

_I've failed._

Even though he had been given all the cards beforehand, he had failed. He had been too confident that things would go as they had gone before. This overconfidence had been his downfall. He would die in a foreign world, one in which he did not belong. He would die without knowing why he had even been brought there.

Opening his eyes, he saw a grey-robed figure standing above him. The figure's sword was raised, and it appeared to be glowing, which Charles thought to be from the moonlight.

Prepared for death, Charles was at least thankful of one thing. He knew that his death would allow for this war to end peacefully. Things were now much closer to what they were before. His death would rebalance fate, giving back the happy endings to the ones who deserved them.

The figure brought down his sword, and Charles closed his eyes. The sound of steel meeting flesh was heard. Something wet splashed onto his face.

His hand began to throb again. That throbbing pain put him over the edge, and he finally allowed the darkness to engulf him.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **I hope you guys like this chapter. I think it is pretty good. Maybe not for the writing quality, but plot-wise. I had been waiting to write this chapter for a while, as well as the one that is coming up next. Feel free to guess at what could have happened.


	8. Perfect Assassin

**Perfect Assassin **_(6th day, part two)_

_A hundred faces flashed before his eyes, all unlike the last. An old grizzled solider, a face full of regret. A young charming revolutionary, a face full of sadness. An ambitious nobleman, a face full of anger. A devout priest, a face full of disbelief._

_The faces stopped shifting, and a single face came into vision: a banker who had become a mercenary. The look on the man's face was unique, one he had only seen once in his life. It was the face of a man who had just been betrayed. _

_After a few seconds, the faces continued, endlessly shifting before his eyes._

_Every one of them had died prematurely, never to finish their stories. Some would have lived to become great heroes, others iniquitous villains. Yet their futures were taken away. Their legends destroyed before they even came to being. They would simply fade into history, among the many others who accomplished nothing._

_Nevertheless, they would be remembered. Not for their great deeds or sinful actions, but for simpler things. A loving father, a good friend, a reliable ally; they would be remembered by the ones who knew them, ones who would miss them after their departure from the world. Perhaps they would not be remembered for long, but even still, their journey into the faded pages of history would not take place until sometime after their death. _

_As he sat there in a pool of his own blood, he knew that not all shared that blessing._

* * *

When his consciousness returned to him, Charles saw the familiar ceiling of the Emiya mansion.

He appeared to be laying on a futon. His body ached all over, and his right shoulder felt odd. When he moved his hand to touch it, he noticed that a bandage was covering it. He did not know why it was there, or why he was at Shirou's house in the first place.

Moving his head to look around, he realized a girl in red was sitting beside him, one he knew to be Rin. A look of concern covered her face, but when she noticed he was awake, that face turned to one of anger.

"Are you stupid!? You act like you know what you are doing, but the first time you get attacked you almost die!"

Although he didn't understand what she meant, he managed to apologize anyway.

"Uhm… sorry."

"Tohsaka, don't be so hard on him."

The voice had come from behind Rin, and he turned his gaze to look at the speaker. Shirou was standing in the entrance with a concerned face. Saber stood beside him, and appeared to be quite distraught. For a reason unknown to Charles, a feeling of relief came over him.

"Maybe I wouldn't be if he wasn't so reckless. He is lucky that his Servant even bothered to bring him here."

Rin's words echoed through his ears, and a flood of memories came back to him. The trap that had been set for him. The house that had been intruded and ruined. The pain of the sword biting his skin. The fall to the streets below. The realization that he had failed.

He sat up and quickly brought up his right arm to look at his hand. In response, a sharp pain shot through his body. Ignoring it, he saw that his hand still had a singular sword and a circle on it.

_This doesn't make any sense_, he thought to himself. He had felt the seals disappearing from his hand when he had fell. Caster had used Rule Breaker on Assassin; that much was certain. According to Rin, however, Assassin had brought him here.

"You're going to open the wound again, you idiot!"

"Where is Assassin?" he replied, ignoring her words. "I need to speak with him."

Charles sat up on the futon, and turned his body towards the others. As Rin looked too surprised to speak, Shirou did for her.

"He is waiting out in the hallway. I'll go get him, but you really should rest afterwards."

"I want to know what happened. " Rin protested, clearly angry. "If you really are our ally, it should be okay for us to stay while you speak with him."

Although he would finally be able to warn them about Caster's Noble Phantasm, he couldn't allow them to stay. There should have been no way Assassin could have stopped Rule Breaker, and until he found the reason, it was better for them to not listen. It was doubtful Assassin would even explain how they escaped while the others were still here anyway.

"I'm sorry. I need to speak with Assassin alone. I'll tell you two afterwards, I promise."

After a few seconds, Rin reluctantly got up and headed for the door, obviously frustrated. Charles continued while she walked away.

"And Tohsaka? Thanks for bandaging me.", he said with a smile.

Rin had turned to look at him, but quickly turned away after he finished speaking, clearly still angry at him. The three of them left the room, and after a few moments, Assassin entered. Although Charles could not tell from simply looking at him, he knew that Assassin was injured.

Once Assassin sat down in front of him, he began his questioning.

"What… what happened?"

"After I used my Noble Phantasm," Assassin replied, clearly uninterested in the conversation, "she ran away before I could catch her."

The flashback of the figure standing above him, blade in hand, came back to Charles. He had thought the blade was glowing from the moonlight, but it was likely that Assassin had just been preparing to use his Noble Phantasm. Even still, he did not understand what Assassin could have possibly done to reverse the effects of Rule Breaker.

"What did you do? How did you break free from her control?"

Assassin smiled in response, as if he thought the answer was entertaining.

"What did I do? Well, I stabbed myself."

"W-what?"

A sigh came from Assassin.

"I guess I should probably explain everything to you. I did not think it would be that important, but considering you almost died because of me, I suppose I was wrong."

After a brief silence, he continued.

"Before I get into explaining my Noble Phantasm, you're going to need to understand who I am in the first place. Well, not who I am per se, but who I was summoned as. As you already know, all Assassins summoned should share the identity of Hassan-i Sabbah"

Certainly, Charles knew he was correct. Hassan-i Sabbah was the name given to the leaders of the Hashshashin, a medieval Islamic sect. The reasoning for it was simple; any perfect Assassin would have normally remained anonymous, and would have failed to become a Heroic Spirit. Sasaki Kojirou had been an exception, but that was because another servant had summoned him. Yet according to Assassin, he too was another exception.

"The fact that I am here is a mere coincidence. You did not summon me. What you summoned was the concept of an Assassin. I am merely here to fill the role."

Charles did not seem to comprehend, so Assassin continued.

"The idea of an assassin is one who kills with the aspect of surprise, with the true assassins doing it without having their identities revealed. There have been thousands of these throughout history, but as they were perfect, their names have been forever lost. The deeds they committed have all been attributed to the name of 'Assassin'. This is what you summoned; the nameless, faceless killer, the one who took the blame for all the unsolved assassinations throughout history.

"And why were you chosen to represent this?" Charles asked, still not understanding. "Who are you?"

"Why? I don't know why. I fit the requirements; I suppose it was just chance that I was picked. It could have been anybody." Assassin replied, shrugging. His face turned cold as he continued. "As I said before, my name is not of importance. Even if I were to tell you, it would mean nothing. Everything I accomplished in life was attributed to name of 'Assassin'. The people I killed were killed by 'an assassin', not by me. I died a nameless, faceless, and blameless killer, one that would never be remembered by anyone."

The pieces were coming together within Charles head as he began to understand. He realized that t was similar to the Sasaki Kojirou case. The person summoned to take the place of Kojirou was not the actual Sasaki Kojirou, but simply a person who had best fit the parameters of Kojirou.

Similarly, Assassin was one of the many who fit the concept of a 'Perfect Assassin', so the Assassin summoned had his personality. Even more, Charles knew why Assassin had been chosen.

Assassin was not a heroic spirit, nor would any of the other candidates for the summoning of 'Perfect Assassin' be considered heroic spirits. Their existence was more along the lines of a Wraith. The catalyst he had used to summon Assassin was a piece of cloth with a golden strand, and it looked like it had come from Assassin's robe. That cloth had likely allowed Assassin passage into this world, and was the reason why he had been chosen instead of any of the others.

Still, even with the catalyst, Hassan still should have been summoned. Kojirou's summoning was by a Servant, so it allowed the rule was altered. Wondering, he thought maybe that because he did not belong in this world that the summoning had been affected. The fact that this world was not his own might have altered the summoning process somehow.

Even if what Assassin said was true, it should have been impossible for the catalyst he had used to even exist. It should have been lost in time like everything else about him, yet somehow it had been in Charles' room, waiting for him. Assassin did not seem to know that a catalyst had been used, and Charles knew he could not tell him. It would raise suspicion, and even after what they had been through together, he could not predict what Assassin would do once he learned the truth.

"Well, I assume you understand now?"

Although he was still attempting to fill in the blanks Charles nodded.

"That brings us to my Noble Phantasm."

Assassin materialized the familiar double edged broad sword, and laid it horizontally across his hands. Charles had never taken this close of a look at it before, and he realized it was quite beautiful. He had researched it after the fight with Lancer, and it knew it was likely to be a Schiavona, a type of Basket-hilted sword which was popular in Italy during the Renaissance period. The golden pommel in the shape of a cat's head gave it away. However, it was not a type of weapon an assassin would normally use, and the purple gemstone that was planted in the pommel made it even odder.

"So if you were summoned as this 'Perfect Assassin', this sword should represent the weapon of an assassin." Charles stated, while turning his gaze back to his Servant. "Wouldn't something smaller, like a dagger make more sense? The weapon you're holding doesn't look like a weapon an assassin would use."

A sad smile crept upon Assassin's face as he looked down at the sword in his hand. He began to speak in a quiet voice.

"This sword is a sword I had during my life. I assume the Noble Phantasm took the appearance of it because I was chosen as the one to represent Assassin. If another had been picked, it likely would have looked like their weapon."

Assassin moved his head to look back at Charles, as the weapon dematerialized in his hands. The sad smile was now gone.

"The ability would have stayed the same, though." He said, continuing where he had left off. "Whereas I am here to represent the all unnamed assassins throughout history, the sword I carry represents the blade that these assassins used. Now, I have a question for you. What type of people do assassins often kill?"

Charles doubted there was much discrimination in the type of people killed by assassins over the years. No matter the race, wealth, or culture, there would always people who would hold grudges or want power, which meant that no one was safe from the blade of an assassin. Yet he doubted that the one sitting in front of him was looking for that answer.

"Prominent figures, I guess?"

"While you are correct, that was not the answer I was looking for." Assassin replied. "What you should have said is 'people who have the potential to change the world'."

Realizing that Charles still did not quite understand, Assassin elaborated.

"Royalty, nobles, religious figures, commanders of armies, revolutionaries; all of these people often have the power to change the outcome of history. If allowed to live, they could end up being great heroes, or evil tyrants. Yet there are always people who prefer history to go in the direction of their own design."

Charles was beginning to what Assassin meant. The people assassinated throughout history were often in positions that would give them the power to achieve great things. Out of both jealously and fear, these people became targets.

"And so the people with the potential to change the world are killed. Some of them die after already accomplishing great deeds, and we as assassins are sent to end their tales. Others, however, die before their name can even be carved into the history books. In essence, assassins both end legends, and prevent them from being created in the first place."

After a brief silence, Assassin continued.

"A Noble Phantasm is essentially an embodiment of what made a Heroic Spirit famous. In other words, their legend. Do you understand what this means?"

The weapon that Assassin carried was supposed to represent the blade the blade of all the unnamed assassins throughout history. The blood of thousands stained it, most of which belonged to people who had the potential to change the world. It had ended many legends, and prevented others from even being created.

Charles began to think back to the times Assassin had used it. In the battle with Lancer, Assassin had used his Noble Phantasm to block Lancer's Gae Bolg, which should have been impossible. In the fight with Caster, according to Assassin, he had also used it to reverse the effects of Rule Breaker, apparently be stabbing himself with it.

If a Noble Phantasm symbolized a Heroic Spirit's legend, the answer was clear.

"Your weapon is basically an anti-thesis to a normal Noble Phantasm. Normal Noble Phantasms represent the Heroic Spirit's legend, and is something they have been remembered for. The one you carry, on the other hand, has destroyed legends, and anyone who has wielded it has already been forgotten."

"Correct." Assassin exclaimed, while smiling. "I'm happy that you are at least somewhat intelligent."

Ignoring the remark, Charles spoke once more.

"In terms of classification, your weapon would probably be considered an anti-Noble Phantasm Noble Phantasm."

He had never heard of something like that before, but he still did not feel it was too surprising. The identity of Assassin and the reasoning behind it were much odder. Even still, he knew it would surely come in handy. Considering he already knew the Noble Phantasms of all the Servants in the war, a weapon that could exploit them would definitely be useful.

The memory of him lying on the street, prepared for death, flashed before his eyes once more.

Before he had passed out, he had accepted death, believing that it would bring balance back to the war. Sitting in the room he was in now, he still knew that his death could accomplish such a thing. Earlier he had put into his mind that he wanted to save both Rin and Shirou, yet he realized a goal like that was utterly pointless. If he had simply died on that street, his goal would have been achieved.

He glanced back at Assassin, who seemed to be waiting patiently. Assassin had an intriguing look on his face, and looked as if he was trying to determine what Charles was thinking.

With the ability of Assassin's Noble Phantasm, Charles believed he could accomplish things he could not have accomplished before. Simply saving Rin and Shirou was a simple minded goal, and a selfish one. With this power, he might be able to save others who would suffer as a result of the war.

"Assassin, you can leave now. If the others ask, tell them I'm getting some rest."

Without complaint, Assassin got up and left the room. Once he left, Charles laid back down on the futon. A thought came into his head.

He wouldn't just save Rin and Shirou. The other wars had both harmed and taken the lives of innocent victims. With the knowledge and abilities he possessed, he could prevent that from happening. He could save everyone.

As he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but smile at the naivety of such an idea.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **This chapter was hard to write. I had all the ideas in my head, translating them to paper was harder than I first though. If you have any questions behind Assassin's identity or the Noble Phantasm, feel free to ask. If the story isn't clear, I'll just edit it so hopefully people will understand. If you have any complaints, feel free to post them as well.

Next chapters will probably be at a much slower pace (meaning multiple chapters per day of the war), considering things start to pick up, as well as the fact the MC is going to be more involved with the characters. Taiga and Sakura will (probably) appear next chapter.

I have a question you guys, though. Do you prefer smaller chapters, or large ones? Because depending on how I do it, I could either have one or two long chapter of a single day, or multiple small chapters for that day.


	9. Recovery and Revising

**Recovery and Revising **_(7__th__ Day)_

When he awoke from his slumber, his body felt much better, even though his shoulder was still not in good condition. After reminding himself to spend some time healing it, he left the room and headed down the hallway of the Emiya Mansion.

After turning a corner, he heard two arguing voices coming from the living room. One was unmistakably the voice of Rin, but the other was a voice that seemed familiar, though he could not place who it was coming from.

By the time he got to the living room, the argument had died down. As he entered the door, a girl with violet hair bumped into his right shoulder, which almost resulted in him being knocked down from the pain.

When the girl looked up to see who she had walked into, Charles realized that it was Sakura. There were faint tears in her eyes. Her reaction was one of surprise, though he could feel a faint hostility coming from her at the same time.

"I am so sor-"

Before he could apologize, she pushed him out of the way and continued down the hallway, headed in the direction of the entrance.

Charles could not help but feel pity for her, along with the guilt he had gotten used to. He knew that saving her would not be impossible, though it would not be able to take place until after the Grail War. Anything attempted during the war could easily lead to catastrophe. He only hoped that this unexpected interaction would not alter things too much.

Turning his head to Rin, he realized she was staring at him with a cold look.

"I'm not one to use the family of my enemies against them, so do not worry."

She seemed surprised at the comment. After a few seconds, she dropped her cold stare.

"You might as well tell me what happened last night now." She said, while moving to sit down.

"I'm actually going to head back to my house before school." He responded, not moving an inch.

Both shocked and angry at the same time, Rin replied.

"W-what? You're going to school with that injury?"

"Well, we still need to find the culprit behind the barrier. I can't let you two do all the work."

Considering it was likely that Taiga would show up any minute, Charles realized he had better hurry before she showed up. He was still tired from last night, and did not have the energy to deal with someone like her, especially early in the morning.

"I should hurry. I'll tell you what happened last night during lunch."

Before Rin could respond, he turned to go down the hallway and headed for the entrance. He could hear her yelling as he left the house.

The sun was shining, and the air was calm as Charles walked back to the mansion. He could hardly believe that just last night he had almost died within the same streets he now walked.

Reaching his destination, he opened the gate and realized the door to the house was still open. After going through the door and attempting to shut it, he realized that it was broken, likely from Assassin forcing it open.

Ignoring the broken door, he headed up the stairs. After reaching the third floor he entered his workshop.

The scene from last night returned to his eyes. The books were scattered all over the room, and the bookshelves were knocked over. In addition, the window was now also shattered.

He did not know what to make of the scene. Caster was not one to just meaninglessly destroy books, and it was doubtful that the golems had done this. It was possible that she had been looking for something and simply destroyed them out of anger, but he did not know what she could have possibly been looking for. The books in the room were mostly filled with common knowledge among Magi, with a few specific ones related to the Grail War. Although he couldn't tell for sure, it did not look like she had found what she had been looking for.

Stepping over the corpses of the books, Charles moved towards the window. He used his Magecraft to quickly fix it, and then moved to sit on the bed. He then moved his hand over his right shoulder and began healing it. His shoulder was still uncomfortable, but he knew if he kept healing it would eventually recover.

After a few hours passed, the pain died down. Oddly enough, when he looked at the wound, it was almost completely healed. He had not thought his healing skill to be that impressive, but somehow the wound was almost mended already. He still felt incredibly drained from the process, but was pleasantly surprised at the result.

Despite how drained he felt, he knew he had no time to rest. Ignoring his fatigue he went down the stairs and exited the house, heading towards the school.

Once he reached the school, he walked through the gate and felt the familiar surge of energy. He stopped out of hesitation, and began to speak.

"Assassin?"

Although no one was around him, a voice answered his call.

"Yes?"

"Your Concealment Aura ability, it does hide my presence within boundary fields, right?" Charles spoke, while moving out of sight of the school windows.

The voice once again responded.

"Of course, perhaps even better than usual. Even if the owner of the boundary field were to specifically attempt to look for intruders, your presence would be highly diminished. A large space just gives an assassin more room to hide, so in comparison to being directly targeted, my ability actually works better in boundary fields."

Charles continued to move, and found a safe spot away from any onlookers near one of the school buildings. After sitting down, he leaned against the wall.

"Why do you ask? We've been going through that field for a week or so."

"I just wanted to make sure." He replied. After thinking for a moment, he continued. "If this boundary field were a Noble Phantasm, would you be able to destroy it?"

"No. The amount of Prana required to actually destroy a Noble Phantasm would prevent it from being possible. Usually my Noble Phantasm requires little Prana, but using it to actually destroy a Noble Phantasm… that is something that would require much more than you could ever possibly provide me with."

Charles sighed. He had hoped Assassin's Noble Phantasm would have been the key solution to preventing Shinji from injuring anybody, but it was apparent things would not be that easy.

"I understand the concept behind your Noble Phantasm," Charles stated, hoping to come up with a different plan, "but how does it even work?"

"When it comes in contact with a Noble Phantasm, it essentially alters history; acting as if the legend correlated to the Noble Phantasm never even existed. I use it to alter history for a short moment, disrupting the Noble Phantasm from working properly."

Thinking for a moment, Charles asked another question.

"So when you fought Lancer, you used it to disrupt the Gae Bolg's 'sure kill' process? And I assume you also used it similarly last night, to remove Caster's curse from your body?"

"Exactly. It works both on the Noble Phantasm itself, and any attack carried out by the Noble Phantasm."

Although it would be impossible to destroy the boundary field around the school, another idea sprung into Charles' head.

"How long can this 'legend disruption' attack be held for?"

"A minute or two, and that might be pushing it. Even if I could manage to hold it for that long, you can't expect me to fight another Servant after that. I would need time to rest."

"I'll keep that in mind." Charles replied.

The chime of the school bell echoed through the courtyard. Putting the new information into the back of his mind, he walked into the school.

The hallways were bustling with activity as students began to head to the cafeteria to buy their lunch. Swerving through the crowds, he went up the stairs and headed towards class 2-A.

Getting to his destination, he looked through the doorway. The class was somewhat full, with most of the students left being ones who brought their own lunch. Rin was sitting at her desk alone, clearly agitated. Charles yelled into the class in an attempt to speak over the noisy hallway.

"Tohsaka, meet me up on the rooftop for lunch!"

Some of his classmates turned to look at him, and a few out in the hallway even stopped in surprise. Despite the commotion in the hallway, Charles could still overhear some of the females within the classroom whispering.

"Are those two dating?"

"I heard that they were hanging out last Sunday!"

"It looks like even Tohsaka can't resist Charles."

In reaction to both the whispering and his call, Rin turned her head to look at him. Although Charles was grinning, his smile stopped when he saw her face, and he immediately regretted what he had just done. The eyes that stared at him were ones full of hostile intent. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that Rin was about to murder him on the spot.

Somehow managing to smile at her, he waved goodbye and ran towards the stairwell. He then continued his accent until he got to the rooftop.

Once he got there, he sat down in the same spot as before, and started to wait.

Minutes passed, and he began to feel that she might not even show up. The chill of the wind had made the wait unbearable. As he was about to get up to wait in the stairwell, the door to the rooftop opened, and Rin appeared.

She appeared to be holding something in both of her hands. When she noticed him, she tossed the item in her right hand towards him and he instinctively caught it. Looking down at what he had caught, it appeared to be a milk tea, similar to the one he had bought her before.

"That's for last time, though you don't deserve it for that display in class."

Glancing back up, he could see that Rin was now sitting near him, with a drink of her own in her hands. He had expected her to be angry, though for some reason she was calm.

"Thanks," he replied while smiling.

After taking a sip from her tea, Rin spoke once more.

"Shirou won't be coming today."

Although he already had known that, Charles acted surprised and replied.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Why does that idiot do anything?" she replied, sighing. "When your Servant first arrived last night, he had told us that it was likely that the Servant who attacked you was the one from Ryuudou Temple. When you woke up and were talking with your Servant, Saber and Shirou got into an argument. Saber wanted to go to the Temple, but Shirou still wouldn't allow her to."

"He then began talking about how he didn't want Saber to fight because she was a girl, and that he was going to protect her; idiotic stuff like that. He skipped school today to train in the dojo with Saber, and I'm going to teach him proper Magecraft eventually too. I don't think it will help much, but there is no point in telling him that. He is so stubborn."

Knowing how true that statement was, perhaps better that anyone, Charles chuckled.

"Anyway, I want to hear the full story of what happened last night." Rin stated.

After taking a drink from the tea, his body began to feel warmth once again. He then began explaining what had happened the night before, starting with the moment he realized the boundary field around the mansion was gone.

When he finished his story, Rin opened her mouth in confusion.

"You say that Caster was preparing to use her Noble Phantasm, and when you saw your Servant afterwards he was about to kill you… what does that even mean?"

"Caster's Noble Phantasm gives her the power to break the contract between a Master and his Servant. She was controlling him." He replied, taking another drink from his tea.

Rin did not appear to be convinced.

"How do you know that? If that's true, why are you even still alive?"

Taking a moment to think, he came up with a quick lie in an attempt to convince her.

"Assassin told me." He paused for a moment, not knowing if he should continue. "Assassin had used his Noble Phantasm to reverse the curse. His weapon allows him to disrupt Noble Phantasms; you could consider its classification 'anti-Noble Phantasm'."

The previous confusion that covered her face turned to surprise.

"Are you stupid!? Why would tell me that!? "

Considering he had no intention of ever fighting her, he had forgotten that a Master should keep their Servant's Noble Phantasm a secret.

"I don't think it matters much." He replied, while shrugging. "Anyway, my house is a mess because of those familiars. I was hoping to ask Shirou if I could stay at his place while it gets repaired."

Truthfully, the house was a wreck, but that wasn't his real reason. He knew it would be much easier to control what is happening if he stayed within the Emiya mansion, and it would also be much safer. He doubted that Caster would attack again, but there was always the chance that another Servant might show up. Staying at the mansion would prevent him from being ambushed.

He had expected Rin to be suspicious because of his request, but she appeared to have taken it well. The previous surprise from his reveal was gone, and she now looked at him with an emotionless face, almost as if she had expected him to ask something like that. She took another sip of her tea before replying.

"Fine by me. It will make it easier to plan our next move."

They sat for a few minutes in silence as they finished their drinks. When the bell rang signifying that lunch was ending soon, they both got up and headed back inside the school.

Charles swore he could feel Rin's cold, scrutinizing stare piecing his back as the two walked back to class.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Shirou had accepted his request without much discussion. Saber had not seemed to be fond of the new arrangement, but she did not raise any argument, so Charles had been given the other guest room to stay in.

The room that was given to him was western-styled. It had a western style bed, a dresser, and a desk. He had managed to recover a few books - mostly pertaining to the Holy Grail War - from his destroyed workshop, and they were now lying on the desk.

The room itself was practically identical to Rin's guest room, though Charles knew his was much cleaner. Perhaps to her dismay, it was located down the hallway from where her room was.

He had wanted to earn his keep and help Rin cook dinner, she had denied him and he had instead gone to wait in his new room. Considering he was not a good cook, he knew it was probably for the best.

He was sitting on the bed within the room reading a book when Shirou opened the door.

"I think dinner is ready. Let's go get something to eat."

Pulling his sleeve back over his shoulder, he nodded to Shirou and got up from the bed. They then walked together to the living room.

When Shirou opened the door to the living room, Charles saw Rin putting the food on the table, and Taiga already sitting down.

Taiga moved her gaze from the food on the table and focused her eyes on him, looking at him strangely. She then stood up and turned to look at Shirou.

"Shirou… who is that?" she said, while pointing towards Charles.

"His name is Charles Sennett. He transferred to our High school a few weeks ago." Shirou replied, while moving to sit down.

"Wait, he's the transfer student everyone has been talking about!? Why is he here?"

"His house is currently getting renovated, so I'm letting him stay until the renovations are complete."

Taiga did not seem convinced.

"Shirou, I know you like to help people, but this house isn't a hotel! It is better than another girl, but still…"

Taking that as his cue, Charles walked over to her, grasped her hand, and did a bow.

"I assume you must be Fujimura Taiga. Shirou has talked much about you, though I did not expect you to be so beautiful." he stated. Moving his head back up, he continued, while smiling. "I apologize for the intrusion. If it is too much to ask, I can always look for somewhere else to stay."

As he let go of her hand, Taiga's face flickered with a mixture of both shock and embarrassment. "I suppose another guest wouldn't be that bad!" she replied, while grinning and letting out a small laugh. She then sat down back to her original spot.

Turning to look at Rin, Charles saw that she was not impressed with his performance. He smiled at her and then sat down beside Shirou.

Dinner went by quick. Rin's cooking had been better than he had expected, and it had helped give him back some energy he had lost during the healing process.

The atmosphere during dinner had been lax, which came as a shock to Charles. Although he often had fun making Rin frustrated and had read the books in his room to pass time, and the tenseness of the war had gotten to him. Seeing the energetic Taiga, Shirou being the butt of jokes, and even Saber's non serious attitude; all of it gave him a much needed breather.

At the same time, it reminded him once again that the people he had interacted with were no longer fictional. Seeing them enjoy themselves made him realize that they too were human like him, no matter what they were in the past. It still felt surreal, but at the same time, it was calming.

After dinner, he said goodbye to Taiga and headed back to his new room.

When he got to his room, he sat on the bed and decided to spend more time healing his shoulder. Lifting up his sleeve and unraveling the bandage, however, he saw the wound was completely healed. The scar that now was visible was the only sign that he had ever been injured. _Perhaps I am actually skilled in healing magecraft, _he thought.

Now having nothing to do, he decided to read one of the books he had pertaining to the multiple different schools of Magecraft.

After a couple hours, he grew tired of reading. He felt even more drained than he had in the morning, but he still did not want to go to sleep.

Getting up from his bed, he entered the hallway, and began walking through the house. Deciding to get some fresh air outside, he exited one of the back exits. The air was cold, and he took a deep breath, refreshing his lungs.

As he stood in the cold night, he noticed that Shirou was standing alone outside the shed. When he started walking towards him, Shirou turned around and noticed him.

"Are you also here to tell me that I'm stupid for wanting to protect Saber?" Shirou questioned, looking dejected.

Stopping in front of Shirou, Charles smiled a warm smile and replied.

"I'm not sure I agree with you, but I'm certainly don't believe what you are doing is wrong. You just don't want to see her hurt; there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think it is quite commendable."

Shirou seemed to cheer up after hearing his words. Charles did not think it was very surprising; after all, Shirou rarely had anyone to push him forward and tell him that he was doing the right thing. Shirou lived constantly being told that he was wrong, or that he would never succeed, so having someone to tell him the opposite surely would be a refresher.

"Thanks," Shirou replied, "that means a lot."

After awkwardly turning to the shed, he continued.

"Well… I'm going to go get some rest. See you in the morning."

Charles watched Shirou enter the shed, and then heard a deep voice coming from behind him.

"Why do you encourage him?"

When he turned his head, he was met with the stare from a red armored person, who had tan skin and white hair. Charles couldn't help but feel surprised when he realized who it was. The man who now stood before him was a man who had dedicated his life to being a superhero. A man who had died betrayed by those he had sworn to protect. A man who had turned on his own ideals after being forced to break them countless times. The only other person, other than Charles himself, who had already seen the end of the 5th Grail War. _Archer._

Archer seemed amused at his reaction.

"Can you not see his idiocy? He cannot protect Saber. Encouraging him will only lead him to failure."

"Perhaps you are right." Charles replied, composing himself. He smiled as he continued. "Even so, his actions are still worthy of praise. He was thrown into a conflict that he was not prepared for. Most would have left when they had the chance, but he stayed and is now fighting against all odds."

"And what if he stayed only so he could fulfill his twisted, childish ideal?" Archer retorted.

"The very fact that he is someone who is capable of having an ideal that encourages him to protect the lives of others is commendable in itself. Anyone who can hold such a burden without faltering should be praised, not ridiculed."

Archer did not seem to be happy with Charles' response. Moments passed in silence, as the cold air clashed with the fiery hostility emitting from Archer.

"Sennett, was it?" Archer asked, breaking the silence.

Despite the fact he asked everyone he met to call him Charles, Rin had never taken to that idea. It was no surprise that her Servant shared the same sentiment.

"_Charles_ Sennett. " He replied, while taking a small bow. "It is nice to finally meet you, Archer."

Archer let out a small chuckle as he turned around and disappeared into the wind.

Standing alone in the cold night, Charles returned to the house and headed for bed.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **So, Taiga and Archer. Feel free to complain if their interactions feel OOC, I welcome all criticism. This chapter was slow, as it is a prep for other chapters. There (might) be some more Saber next chapter. Also, I changed the past chapters altering all mention of the MC's hair colour and home country. He is blond and from England now. It doesn't serve any plot significance at all, I just did it because 'Charles' is not a very American name.


	10. Leap of Faith

**Leap of Faith**_ (8__th__ day)_

_The hooded figure sat on the bench, watching the citizens go about their day._

_Some merchants were selling their goods; others were transporting boxes of their wares. A rowdy customer was arguing loudly with one of the merchants. The city guards were lounging about, like usual, and one appeared to be sleeping. A man of the church was preaching to the city, but was falling on deaf ears. A herald was warning the populace of a recent sickness. A young boy just successfully snatched a coin purse from an unaware citizen._

_The hooded figure noticed it all, but was uninterested. He had not come there to watch the daily cycle of the people of the city. He cared little about them. To him, they were nothing but 'extras', people who had no impact on his life, and as a result, were meaningless. However, he held no ill will towards the ones he considered 'extras', nor did he believe he was superior to them. He just believed they served no purpose, and preferred to ignore them._

_The only benefit they provided by existing was that they could be used to further his tasks. Despite his avoidance of interacting with others, over the years he had grown skilled at manipulating people. This skill came in handy, for he could extract information or persuade people into doing his bidding. Yet although he enjoyed doing those things, he never used the skill for personal gain, only to complete the contracts assigned to him._

_He had long since abandoned his name and his personal life. He had no true motivation, no reason to continue, yet he took on contract after contract, killing whoever was assigned to him; whether they be benevolent or malevolent._

_That was the life he chose to live: the life of an assassin._

_At this point, he could not remember why he chosen to take that kind of life, nor did he know why he continued. All he knew was that it filled the void that was within him. It gave him a sense of purpose; a reason to live._

_And so he would continue down the dark path before him, never turning to look back at the lives he had taken. Never stopping to think about the lives he would continue to take._

* * *

The day slowly passed before Charles' eyes as he sat within the classroom, twirling his pen. The teacher was droning on about something unimportant, the scratching of pencils meeting paper filled the air, and some students were whispering about something. Charles ignored all of these sounds, somehow maintaining his sanity.

As he began to feel weary, he looked around at the people he now called his classmates. A month had passed since he had come to this world, yet he was still surprised at how well he had adapted into the school.

Perhaps it was because of the novelty of being a foreigner, or the persona he had put on, but he had become incredibly popular, incredibly fast—especially among the female population of the school. He had attracted a lot of attention, most of it positive, and his popularity even rivaled Rin's.

It was not something he had particularly wanted; it was merely a side effect that came about in his meddling with Rin. In his attempt to prevent her from discovering that he was a Magus, he had garnered a lot of attention from others, likely because of Rin's status as the school idol. Truthfully, it was not much of a bother, but it was certainly tiring.

Turning his head to the left, he began to look at the girl that was sitting beside him. Her long, black, twin tailed hair shined from the afternoon sun leaking through the windows. Her face showed no emotion, and she was focused intently on listening to the lesson, despite all that had happened in the past few days.

As he stared at her, Charles couldn't help but realize that she was beautiful, both in mind and appearance.

At the same time, he knew that it would still be a while before she would trust him fully. Shirou had been easy enough to persuade, even to the point where Shirou seemed to enjoy his company. Saber still was cautious around him, but when he proved his loyalty in the future he believed she would begin to trust him. Rin was the current obstacle to overcome, but he felt he was making good progress.

While he continued to gaze at her, she suddenly turned her head to look at him. A flash of surprise followed shortly by annoyance appeared on her face.

In reaction, he smiled at her and then turned his head back towards the front of the class.

Time continued to tick away, and after what felt like an eternity, the school bell chimed signifying the end of class for the day. Charles began to put away his things as the class came back to life.

Some students began to head to their clubs, while others prepared to go home. After Charles finished gathering his stuff, he turned to Rin and waited for her to be ready.

When she finished, she glared at him and then walked past him, not saying a word. He smirked and turned around to follow her.

Their walk home was done in complete silence. Rin lead the way, with Charles following a few steps behind. Although he did not know why, Charles felt something was off. Rin seemed colder towards him than usual. Yesterday he had noticed something different about her during lunch, and during breakfast she had been even more distant, but this silent walk only seemed to make it even more obvious.

When they reached the intersection that separated the two districts, Rin stopped and turned around.

"I'm going to go to my house to get a few things. I should be back before dinner." She stated, and then began walking towards the district with the Western-style houses.

Charles had expected this, yet he knew that he needed to give her some sort of warning. It was almost certain that Shinji would still ask her to form an alliance, and if that happened, he would end up insulting Shirou in the process. Knowing Rin, her reaction would be predictable. She would assault Shinji like before; which in turn would push Shinji to activate the boundary field early. That could not happen.

"Wait." He said, hoping to stop her.

Rin stopped, but did not to completely turn around. Instead, she turned her head to the side. Grateful that her bad mood did not lead her to ignoring him, Charles continued.

"If the Matou Master appears, try and control you anger." He uttered, trying to not sound completely suspicious. "Even if he insults you or someone close to you, please, do not do anything rash."

Charles had expected her to be surprised or shocked, but she simply turned her head forwards once again and continued walking. The chill emitting from her was completely apparent, and he still did not know why.

"Rin, wait!" he yelled, in a slight panic. He had accidently called her by her personal name, as he sometimes did. This was usually met with an angered reaction, but this time was different. She stopped walking, but did not even bother to turn her head. The icy tension in the air only seemed to grow.

He knew that there was no time for being subtle. If Shinji did activate the boundary field in the same way as predicted, many would suffer as a result. In their current state it was clear they could defeat him, but Charles had sworn to make a better future. He would not let the students within the school go through that pain.

"Tohsaka, please, listen." He said, beginning his explanation. "You know how Matou Shinji is. He does not take any insult lightly. If he really is the Master behind the Boundary Field at the school, it is possible that he could activate it early. We cannot let that happen. Please, just don't do anything that could push him towards that path."

Although she was not looking at him, Charles could tell she was surprised by his comment. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke in a voice that showed little emotion.

"I understand."

With that, Rin continued walking. Charles watched as she journeyed up the hill. Even after she was out of sight, he still had goose bumps from the frigid chill that had radiated from her.

* * *

_"…In other news, head director of the Shinto development project, Hagino Yoshisada, has vowed to ensure the perfection of the construction work being done within Shinto. This statement was made in response to the gas leaks that occurred two weeks ago, and despite his effort, many have criticized…" _

While Shirou was finishing dinner preparations, Charles sat in the living room with Taiga and Saber, and was watching a recent news report on the television.

Although he was satisfied with the news, he still could not help but feel uneasy. Without Assassin on her side, Caster seemed to be playing a much quieter part in the Grail War. Seeing as she no longer needed to provide another Servant with Prana, and that she no longer had another Servant to protect her, she did not appear to be draining the citizens of Fuyuki as frequently as she had done before. She now was in a much weaker position, and she seemed to be playing it safe.

Even still, it was unlike Caster to do nothing. She had certainly shown him before that she was willing to go on the offensive, but after her defeat, it was impossible to predict what she might do next, especially considering she now knew the power of Assassin's Noble Phantasm.

He had thought that attacking her before she can recover might be a good idea. With Saber's high magic resistance, and Assassin's ability, defeating Caster would have been easy. However, knowing Caster, it was likely she had a trap laid out. The safe decision would be to wait for Archer to recover. _Yet that would be likely cause even more problems_, he realized.

As he mulled over what to do, the door to the living room opened. He had not realized Shirou had left the room while he was lost in thought, and had just returned, with Rin following closely behind.

Instinctively, Charles looked down at Rin's hands and sighed in relief. Her hands looked as normal; there were no signs she had punched Shinji. There was always the possibility she had done something equally rash, but he still could not help but feel relieved.

Shirou moved to sit down beside him, and Rin moved to sit on the opposite side of the table, beside Saber. He turned his gaze from Rin's hand to her face, and he saw that she was staring at him, with cold eyes. The chill that he had felt on their walk after school returned, and it felt even worse than before.

Before he could say anything to her, he was interrupted by an enthusiastic voice coming from the end of the table.

"Tohsaka, you shouldn't look so gloomy after making us wait!" Taiga complained, clearly eager to begin dinner. "Itadakimasu!"

And so dinner began. For the most part, it was much like it had been before. Taiga was joking as usual, and Shirou and Saber seemed to be much closer. Rin only observed everyone else, as she ate in silence. She had seemed to be lost in thought.

Charles had tried to improve her mood various times throughout the dinner, but he had only been met with a cold silence, and had quickly stopped. The others had noticed this, and had tried to interject their thoughts.

"I don't know why you are so cold towards Charles, especially considering he is trying to be so friendly with you Tohsaka. Lighten up!" Taiga had stated, but was only met with further silence.

Shirou had attempted too, but it was again to no avail. So despite the good natured mood of the evening, it was still met with an overbearing awkwardness.

After dinner finished, Taiga returned home, and Charles was helping Shirou clean up. As he was handing Shirou another dish, he heard Rin's voice coming from behind him.

"Shirou, I'll be waiting in my room, so come when you're done cleaning up." She explained. The sound of the door opening and closing was quickly followed.

After she left, Shirou took the dish that was being handed to him and spoke.

"Why is she so angry with you?" Shirou asked, obviously confused.

Shrugging, Charles replied. "For once I do not know." He smiled as he continued. "Hopefully she won't take her anger out on you during your lesson."

Shirou agreed with a nervous smile, and they shared a small laugh. When they were done cleaning, Charles left the room and returned to his.

After closing the door, he walked over to the desk and gently placed the stuffed bear Taiga had given him beside a pile of books he had managed to recover.

Taking one of the books, he went to go sit on the bed when he heard a voice.

"It looks like that girl doesn't trust you after all." The voiced stated, sounding amused.

Charles turned his head and saw Assassin leaning on the wall of the room. He knew that what Assassin said was true, but it annoyed him to hear it out aloud. Instead of replying, he asked him a question.

"Has your injury healed yet?"

"Of course, why would you ask?" Assassin looked at him curiously and continued. "Are we finally going to act?"

After thinking about it for a while, Charles knew that they needed to go on the offensive; it was only a matter of choosing the target.

Caster was his first choice, but he was still cautious about what might be prepared for them. Berserker would be incredibly risky, and likely suicidal, especially without Archer. Lancer would be nigh impossible to find. Although they might be able to defeat Gilgamesh given the right preparations, attacking him now would only complicate things, and if things weren't perfect, it would likely result in their deaths.

Confronting Kirei would always be possible, but the very idea gave Charles chills. Despite the fact that Kirei was the overseer of the war, he had not actually spoken to him yet. He had done his best to keep his cool around everybody else, but Kirei was on a whole different level. The Servants of the war were certainly more powerful than Kirei, yet there was something about him that made Charles wary. He did not want to confront him any sooner than needed.

And so his thoughts turned to Rider and Shinji. They were the easiest targets, in both combat and accessibility. As long as Shinji remained the Master of Rider, defeating her would be incredibly easy, and it would never be hard to find them. On top of that, Shinji was the one who needed to be dealt with quickly, before the Boundary Field was fully completed.

Assassin continued to stare at him patiently, waiting for an answer.

As Charles was about to speak, he suddenly stopped. He was reminded of the cold street touching his bare skin, of the aching all over his body, of the misery he had felt when he had believed he had failed. He had thought himself prepared then, just as he did now. But when things changed from their usual path, he had almost died.

Even with all of the cards in his hands, he did not have the skill to properly plan all outcomes. Doubt plagued his mind. Could he really plan a proper attack? What if he failed again, this time resulting in the deaths of the ones he was supposed to protect?

He knew he could not do it alone. No matter what he said about wanting to create a better future, he was still just a normal person thrown into a dangerous world. He had tried his best to push himself on, but the only way he had been doing that was by distancing himself from the rest of the world. By holding the belief that the world around him was fictional, that the people within it simply were simply 'characters', he had been able to push the harsh reality down.

Now, however, he could not do that. Everything has begun to change the night he had decided to give back the happy endings to Rin and Shirou. Since then he had come to the realization that they were not just characters. They were people of flesh and blood, like all other people within this world. Yet even after that, he had still tried to pretend the world was fictional.

When he had almost died because of his own overconfidence, he had finally realized the truth. In his past life, the idea of 'death' was something distant. The life he had lived before had been relatively peaceful, and death had never been something to be afraid of. It was something that would come after he had gone through life, and accomplished the things he wanted to accomplish. Now, however, that was not the case. Death was all around him; a simple misstep would show him that.

Because he had come to terms with what had happened to him, he did not truly have the desire to live. He was stuck in this world, and would likely never see his family or friends ever again. However, that did not mean he would allow himself to die - not yet, anyway. He needed to make certain that Rin, Shirou, and all the others in this world would not have their futures taken away. He would not allow the Grail to win.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"Yes, we are going to be going on the offensive soon." He said. His voiced quieted as he continued. "But I have some information to share with you first."

Relying on his own ability would not work any longer; Caster had shown him that. Luckily, he did not have to rely on his own ability. He possessed important knowledge that would be vital to winning the war. He knew the strengths, weaknesses, and identities of all the Servants and Masters participating in the war. He had kept this knowledge away from Assassin just to be safe, but knew that it was no longer viable to do such a thing.

And so he explained, and Assassin listened.

He intentionally left out all information about Saber and Archer, as he did not want Assassin to do anything rash. He also did not reveal the existence of Gilgamesh, or the fact that Kirei was a Master. Leaving out all other unnecessary details, he explained the identities of the enemy Servants, their abilities, and anything else he could think of.

Assassin interjected multiple times throughout his explanation, and after an hour or so, they began to formulate counters for all of the enemy Servants. Although Assassin did not give many ideas that differed from the ones he had come up with, a great burden was finally lifted off his shoulders, and he could not help but feel relieved.

Yet there was still something that needed to be said, or else this information would do more harm than good.

"If I am approached by an enemy Master, do not reveal yourself unless I am in immediate danger." Charles said, as he got up from the bed and moved to the desk. He turned to look at Assassin after dropping the book he had been holding onto the desk.

Assassin had been looking at him curiously all night, and this curiosity only seemed to grow. However, through that curiosity Charles knew Assassin was also suspicious. He had taken a risk by revealing all of the information to Assassin, and he knew he would need to act carefully to make certain that he would not regret his choice.

When no reply came, he continued.

"You are an Assassin, are you not? Although I do not want you to reveal yourself against an opponent, I give you full permission to attack if an opening arises. I will do my best to provide that opening."

The slight hostility emitting Assassin died down, and Assassin even smiled. Before Assassin could reply, Charles added the final detail, hoping it would not change his attitude too much.

"I just want to make one thing clear. You are never to attack an enemy Master unless I give an order otherwise."

He had sworn to make a better future. The death of Servants would be inevitable, but the deaths of Masters would not. Shinji, Ilya, Kuzuki , –perhaps even Kirei—, all of them deserved a fate better than death. Despite their negative qualities, no one was beyond redemption. He would do his best to give them their chance.

Assassin smile wavered, and silence filled the air. Assassin stared at him with a cold look, and Charles was reminded of the same look Rin had given him.

"I understand." Assassin stated. He stopped leaning on the wall and continued. "I just want to ask you one thing; how did you get all of this information?"

The question was expected, and Charles jokingly replied, in an attempt to ease the tension.

"Did you think I was just sitting around and doing nothing? I've been doing some scouting. Perhaps if you had been taking this more seriously might've have realized that."

Seconds past, but the coldness did not fade. Suddenly, however, Assassin gave him a smile.

"Honestly, I don't really care how you got it; I'm impressed either way." Assassin said while shrugging. He continued in a non-serious tone. "I'm sorry for underestimating you, Master." He then did a short bow, mocking how Charles acted around others.

Reassurance filled Charles after seeing Assassin return to his usual self. He had taken a risk, but now he knew it would pay off.

He was still smiling at Assassin's response when suddenly he heard a knock on the door. He nodded at Assassin to dematerialize, and then called out.

"Come in."

When the door opened, he saw Rin with an odd look on her face. She quickly entered the room and shut the door behind her. The air in the room was thick with tension once again, but it was now accompanied by a harsh chill.

He had expected her to confront him –her personality practically guaranteed it-, but he still had not had enough time to figure out why she was acting so coldly towards him.

Before he could say anything, Rin spoke.

"Who are you?"

The question came as a surprise to Charles, but he maintained his cool and replied with a smile.

"Why, Charles Sennett, of course. I'm hurt that you've forgotten."

Rin did not seem amused in the slightest, and did not even seem to be angered by his reply. She just continued to stare at him with a cold gaze. He met this attitude with a calm one, while he continued to try to think why she might ask such a question.

As he was trying to think of a solution, she elaborated.

"You were right about Shinji." She said. Her tenseness seemed to dissipate, but only slightly. "He tried to get me to join him, and he said some annoying things. I almost felt like punching him, but I decided not to and walked away instead."

Charles sighed in relief. Even if he was in bad situation at the moment, at least there was no worry about Shinji activating the field tomorrow. They would still have time to confront him, like he had planned with Assassin earlier.

"Good job." He replied, not even trying to hide his relief. He walked over casually and sat on the bed, as Rin continued to stand in front of the door and stare at him. "But what did you mean by what you said earlier?"

Rin seemed to hesitate. Charles knew it was likely she had been thinking about this for a long time. She had always been suspicious of him, but he did not think that a question such as 'who are you' was something that she would ask without thought. There was no doubt he had acted suspiciously in the past, but he still did not believe anything he had done would warrant such a question.

"I went to your house after I spoke with Shinji." She finally said. "I wanted to see the damage that Caster had done, but I noticed something else."

She stopped before continuing, seemingly unsure of what she was about to say.

"Your mailbox was overflowing with junk mail, and it looked like you hadn't even opened it in weeks. Your phone wasn't even plugged in, and it did not look like it was forcibly removed, either. And the picture frames… all of the pictures frames in your house were empty."

Charles met her response by keeping the same attitude as before, but did not respond at first. Rin was right; there certainly was something suspicious about that. But he knew there was something more to her question.

"Well, my parents are pretty busy – they don't really have time to contact me, so I don't bother." He replied, wanting to see her response. "As for the picture frames? I don't really have many pictures of them because they are always in some other country. The house had already been prepared for me when I moved here, and I just never took the time to take those frames down."

Her attitude did not change, and he had had expected that. The things Rin had described were things one would not notice unless one was purposely looking for them. She had not gone to the house to see the damage, he realized, it was likely she had went for some other reason.

As expected, she continued, ignoring his words.

"When Shirou told us that Shinji was a Master and that there was another Master hiding at Ryuudou Temple, I was watching your reaction. You almost looked bored, as if you already had known."

The words continued to fly at Charles, but he still remained calm despite the freezing atmosphere of the room. _Perhaps I have been overestimating my acting ability,_ he thought to himself, and replied with a smile.

"Well, that's because I had known." He replied, acting as if it was not a big deal. "I had suspected the Matous would manage to produce a Master somehow, and I had already done some scouting to determine that there was a Master on top of Ryuudou Mountain."

Rin continued her piercing gaze, still not impressed with his answers. After a few moments, she spoke once more.

"Earlier, you acted like you knew Shinji. " She accused. "And that night, you also seemed to know Emiya, even though he didn't know who you were. You even seemed to care about his well-being."

"Well, Shinji is a pretty popular guy. I had heard rumors about him. As for Shirou, well, you're wrong on that one." Even though he doubted the use of bothering to explain himself, he continued. "You're right about me not wanting to see him hurt, but that's just because I don't want to see any unnecessary deaths."

Just as Rin's accusations bounced off of Charles, so too did his explanations bounce of Rin. She did not seem to care about what he had to say. This was not a trial in which he was supposed to defend himself. As far as she was concerned, he was already guilty.

He knew there was something off about these accusations. Usually one would gather evidence and form a conclusion, but there was something different about this. As if she had been given a conclusion and found evidence to support it afterwards.

The thought came to him instantly. There was only one person who had the right to be completely suspicious from the start.

"Archer told you to be suspicious of me, didn't he?"

Archer had already fought in this Holy Grail war once, and in that war, there would have been one key difference from the one taking place right now. It would have been a war without Charles. It was doubtful Archer understood why the timeline was different; but even still, any change would have undoubtedly made him cautious.

It was likely Archer had told Rin early on to be suspicious of Charles. The evidence Rin had discovered was only found to support that suspicion. The conversation he had had the night before with Archer had only added fuel to the fire. He did not need to hear Rin's response for the answer; it was clear from her surprised reaction that he was correct.

Rin's cold stare had faltered for a second, probably both from surprise and doubt. Yet that was only for a second, and it quickly returned.

"That isn't helping your case." She replied, sounding more suspicious than before.

Charles did not know what to say, and instead just met her stare with his own. He knew he had made an error; that much was certain. He had not paid much attention to Archer, considering he had only seen him for the first time with his own eyes the night before. He had been overconfident, and as before, it brought him trouble.

If Rin continued to be suspicious of him it would be impossible to do anything. He had already known that before, but now it was apparent that he might not be able to get her to trust him after all. If worse came to worst, she might even turn on him based on Archer's suspicions.

He continued to stare at her deep blue eyes, when an idea formed within his head.

The girl that was standing in front of him was completely serious, and one might even doubt that she was a high school student at all. This was because she did not see herself as one; to her, her school life was nothing but a charade. Her real identity was that of a Magus.

She had lived her life always training to become a Magus, as that was the path that had been set for her. If you were to ask her, she would not hold any resentment or regrets; she was always fully set on building her skills as a Magus. And just as a wild tiger does not question what life would be like in a zoo, she had never even thought of the idea of what it might be like to live a normal life.

Yet Charles knew that she was not fully capable of being considered a 'Magus'. Among many other things, a Magus must always be prepared to set aside their personal feelings. Her father had been shining example of that, but he knew that she did not completely share that trait. The actions she would have taken in this war would have proven that.

The tension in the air continued to grow. Rin's impatience was clearly increasing, and her mood was not getting any better. Charles knew he would need to act soon.

His plan was a risky one. He could no longer rely on logic or planning. His plan relied entirely Rin, and if she would not listen to what he had to say, the situation would only get worse. She had only known him for around a month, so the likelihood of success was slim, but he could not lose hope.

Somehow, as he watched Rin stand there, he could feel there was a chance. Despite her cold expression, he could sense that there was a small part of her that held a different emotion. A small part of her that might have felt betrayed; betrayed that he lied to her, betrayed that the past month might have just been a ruse. He might have caused only frustration for her in the past, but he held the hope that she still considered him a friend.

And so, for the second time that night, he took a step towards the unknown, hoping it would not come back to haunt him.

"Rin, I'm sorry." He announced, as he got off the bed to stand in front of her. "I lied to you."

He waited to gauge her reaction. Her previously cold face was now filled with surprise, though it was clear that she was still suspicious. Her body tensed and she backed up slightly as he got closer to her. When he was within arm's reach of her, he could feel both an icy chill and fiery hostility coming from her. It was clear that she was prepared to act at a second's notice.

"I know that, or else I wouldn't have come here." She replied, as she stood defiant.

Despite her attitude, Charles could hear something in her voice. It carried both uncertainty, and a softness that reminded him of that night where it all began. That softness gave him the motivation to continue.

"…But I can't tell you the truth. Understand that what I said about wanting to protect you and Shirou was not a lie. I care about both of you, and because of that, I can't tell you the truth. Not yet. When the time comes I will tell you everything… for now I am asking you to trust me."

Rin looked as if she was about to interrupt, but he quickly continued before she had the chance.

"I know you have no reason to believe me. I know that you have every reason to think I might betray you. But I have no other options left. Just… please, Rin. Trust me."

It was impossible to gauge her reaction. Her face stayed the cold, emotionless face that she had been carrying all night.

Silence followed, as the two stood face to face within the room.

He knew he couldn't have told her the complete truth behind his entrance into the war. If Archer were to find out that he knew the outcome of the war, it would not end well. Archer would likely murder him before Rin even had the chance to stop him.

He could have always lied, or not given her the full story, but he couldn't bring himself to do that. Lies, acting, pretending to be someone he wasn't; he had done so much of that the past few weeks. Although he had only done this to further his plans, it still felt good finally being able to speak from his heart. He only hoped the Rin would understand.

As the silence continued for what felt like minutes, Rin gave him one last piercing stare and then suddenly turned around and opened the door. Before going through the doorway, she stopped. Charles thought she was going to say something, but after a moment, she continued and left the room without a word.

While the footsteps echoed through the hallway, Charles stood there dumbfounded. He did not know what to make of her reaction. He had expected her to respond, but instead she had simply walked away – he did not know what that was supposed to mean.

At the same time, he knew that Rin would not turn her back to someone that she considered an enemy. If he hadn't persuaded her fully, he was at least given time to win her trust. And that was a victory in itself.

"So, were you lying again?"

A familiar voice came from behind him, and he turned around to see that Assassin had rematerialized. He was now leaning on the same spot as before, and had a smile on his face. It was clear that Assassin had heard everything.

It was a valid question, of course. The past month he had pretended to be some rich foreigner, and had played the part fairly well. Assassin had grown accustom to this performance, and loved to mimic it or point out what was a lie and what was truth.

However, what he said to Rin was not a lie. He did care about her and Shirou, and he would stand by their side till the end. He had decided that already, and nothing would deterrent him from that.

Yet when he had first entered the war he had never even thought of the idea of telling someone the truth. Even when he had decided to join Rin and Shirou, the thought had never even appeared in his mind. He had believed that explaining himself to them would be pointless, and that it would only bring more risks. He had never even thought of what they might feel, and had only thought about it from a strategic standpoint.

Now, however, things were different. He could no longer betray their trust and lie to their faces without a second thought; Rin had shown him that. And so no matter what came after, he would tell them the truth. He owed it to them.

After turning back around to close the door and shut off the lights, he replied, with full honesty in his voice. "No, I wasn't."

He could hear Assassin chuckle from his response as he dematerialized.

When Charles went to go lie on the bed, Assassin's chuckle continued to ring through his ears, and a thought came into his mind.

Archer was not the only one who would react poorly to the truth behind his entrance into the war. Although Assassin had a different goal in mind, Charles could feel that he carried the same determination that Archer carried. Assassin clearly had some wish he wanted granted, and would likely do anything to obtain it. The only question was what Assassin would do once he learned that the Holy Grail was nothing but a corrupted dream.

Those thoughts continued to haunt him as he fell into slumber.

* * *

**Writer's Note: **This took me a while to do, mostly because both the Assassin conversation and Rin conversation at the end were pretty hard to write, and even then, I'm not sure I like how they turned out. Sorry for the lack of Saber - I decided to move the Saber scene I was going to do until later in the story. This part focuses on Rin, but she'll have less focus as the plot develops (not saying she will be less important or anything, more that the other characters become more important than they are right now)

Next chapter things will pick up. It will take me a while to write everything after this though, because University has started. And again, if you have any complaints/praise, feel free to write a review. I take all criticism with open arms.

I'd also like to note a revision. I edited the past chapter (Day 7) a bit, altering all mention of Charles' healing of his arm, and also added a small description of what his room looks like. They aren't major, but if you want to read the alterations, just go to any part of the chapter where he was healing his arm (when he goes back to his mansion, before supper, and after supper). The description of his room is also in the before supper scene.

On a side note, if you want to see a nice artist interpretation of what Assassin looks like, go to my profile. Not saying that it is a perfect capture of what Assassin looks like, but he still did a good job.


	11. Blood Fort Andromeda

**Blood Fort Andromeda **_(9th day__) _

The courtyard was filled with students as the school day came to an end. Charles was walking a short distance behind Rin as they headed towards the school gate.

Much to his relief, the day had been nothing out of the ordinary. Despite the fact he should have had nothing to worry about; he had been on edge the entire time. He had even told Assassin to keep watch over Shinji during class, but Assassin had seen no suspicious activity. Thankfully, that part of the day was over.

Yet despite this, he knew that there would be more to come before tomorrow. Last night he had made plans with Assassin, and the first step would begin today. Before the day was done, The Holy Grail War would have one less participant, if everything went according to plan.

"Tohsaka, I'm going to stay back for a bit." He said, stopping once they reached the gate. "I'm going to look for more sources of the Boundary Field. It'll only take an hour or so, so I should be back before dinner."

Charles seemed to remember that this was the day that Rin had decided to start skipping school in the other version of the Grail War. Yet for a reason unknown to him, she had not made that decision this time.

Rin stopped and turned to look at him. She made no reply, and instead just glared at him.

Since their conversation the night before, she had not spoken to him once. Both during breakfast and the school day she had ignored him the entire time, and it was apparent that this silent treatment was not ending yet.

Still, Charles felt little of the coldness that he had felt yesterday. The chill was not completely gone, but the attitude Rin was giving him seemed more out of annoyance than suspicion. He still did not like it, but he could not help but feel relieved that she was at least giving him a chance to earn her trust.

Even though his statement sounded suspicious, Rin turned away and continued walking through the gate, leaving him to stand alone. He watched her walk until she was out of sight, then turned around and headed towards the archery dojo.

When he reached it, he stopped. He could hear the members of the archery club within it. It was clear there was no way he could go in without raising suspicion, so instead he went around and looked at the exterior.

As he was scanning the walls to look for anything out of the ordinary he noticed a shed attached to the side of the dojo. The shed was rather small, and was likely only an extra storage space. Seeing as he had nowhere else to look, he started to walk towards it.

When he got there he realized the door was oddly unlocked, so he entered it. The interior was dark, but because of the light leaking in from the outside he could still make out what was inside of it. It was full of extra equipment for the archery club; targets, bows, arrows, and other mundane things. Much of it was dusty, and it did not look as if the equipment had been used in some time.

While Charles continued to examine the interior, something caught his eye. He moved towards what appeared to Japanese-style bow and pushed it aside. Crouching down to get a closer look, he quickly realized he found what he was searching for.

On the wall, behind where the bow had been, lied a Magic Circle that seemed to be infused with blood.

Tapping into the Magic Crest that had somehow been implanted on him, he found a spell that would work. Muttering under his breath, the Magic Circle quickly faded.

Satisfied, he stood back up. As he was moving towards the exit of the shed, he heard a voice speak.

"Why even bother? Are we not going to ambush him tonight?"

The voice belonged to Assassin, who was following him in Spirit Form like usual. Charles stopped as he stepped out of the shed, and stood there silently as the sun's warmth filled him once again.

Assassin's question was a valid one. If everything went according to plan this entire endeavor would be pointless. When the real action began come nightfall, unless Shinji managed to run to the school, the boundary field would not even have a chance to get activated.

Yet he had been over confident before. If Shinji and Rider did manage to escape, the threat would increase substantially. The entire school would be endangered once again, and he would no longer be able to predict when Shinji would make his move. In order to create a better future, he needed to cover all of his bases.

The field itself still needed a few days preparation. If it did reach completion, Charles doubted that even Assassin's Noble Phantasm would be able to stop anyone from being injured. So he knew he would need to do his best to delay it for as long in possible.

"It's always best to be prepared for the worst case scenario." He replied into the air, and then began walking away from the shed.

It was clear to him that he would not be able to enter the archery dojo any time soon, so he headed towards the school in hope to find more of the circles. As he was passing the dojo, a voice called out to him from behind.

"Hey, foreigner, wait up!"

The voice made him stop, yet he did not turn around to look at who was speaking to him. It was a voice he should not recognize, for he had never actually spoken to the person before, but he recognized it anyway. A voice he would have preferred not to hear.

He hesitated before turning around. Once he did, he saw that his first guess was correct. The student looked as if he had come out of the archery dojo, and was now heading in his direction. Blue hair covered his head, and Charles could see that he was smiling. There was something about the smile that made Charles feel uneasy.

"You're that foreigner who transferred here a few weeks ago. Charles Sennett, was it?" The student questioned once he reached within talking distance.

"Feel free to call me Charles if you wish." He replied. After doing the formulaic bow, he continued. "It's nice to meet you."

The student eyed him curiously, and continued to smile, perhaps even larger than before. The uneasiness in the pit of Charles' stomach only seemed to grow.

"You know who I am, right?" The student asked, in a patronizing tone.

The uneasiness began to fade from Charles once he heard the apparent superiority in the student's voice. He realized there was no real reason to be worried; the student had just likely heard his name from talk around the school. On top of that, the student did not even have the power to determine whether or not Charles was a Magus, so the actual danger of the situation was little.

"Of course. You're Matou Shinji, right? The captain of the Archery Club. I've heard that you are incredibly skilled."

Charles knew that what he said was incorrect. Mitsuduri was the actual captain of the archery club; Shinji was only the vice-captain. Yet he could already see that the 'mistake' would work for his advantage, for the scheming smile on Shinji's face had turned into a condescending smirk.

"Heh, yeah. You're right." Shinji replied, obviously happy with the response. He paused for a few moments, soaking in the praise. With the smile still on his face, he continued. "You're a Magus, aren't you?"

Charles stood there shocked as the question continued to echo through his head. The words that were just uttered made no sense to him. Shinji had no magical ability; it should have been impossible for him to determine that he was a Magus.

Somehow managing to maintain his calm appearance, he replied nonchalantly.

"Indeed, I am."

Shinji's face paled from the reply, and the previous condescending smile turned into a nervous one. Charles did not need to think much of why; Shinji had likely asked that question to incite a reaction out of him. If he would have reacted, Shinji would have assumed that he had intended to hide his identity as a Magus. This made one thing clear to him: Shinji still did not know for certain if he was a Master.

Shinji continued to stand frozen, and looked even more nervous than Charles had originally been. Yet despite this, in his eyes Charles could see a spiteful flame that only seemed to be growing by the second. A flame that did not look like it had any intention of stopping.

"I've heard that you are staying at Emiya's place." Shinji managed to state, completely changing the subject.

Shinji's comment only seemed to confirm the suspicions that were floating in Charles' head. There was no denying it - Sakura was the reason Shinji knew the truth.

He remembered that only a few days ago he had bumped into her at Shirou's house, and even then he had thought her reaction odd. Now, however, he understood why she reacted so hostilely. Sakura would have automatically be suspicion of him, and Assassin's Concealment Aura would have had been utterly useless. She would have known he was a Magus right away.

Two feelings began to overcome him. One was anger - directed at himself- for not realizing his mistake sooner. The other was guilt, stemming from the suspicions he had of what Shinji had done to her to obtain the information.

Putting those thoughts behind him, Charles replied.

"Yeah, I am. My house is having some renovations done. My parents were friends with Tohsaka's father, and since she is staying at Shirou's house, she managed to talk Shirou into letting me stay as well."

Considering that Shinji had likely heard the rumors surrounding him and Rin, and that Shinji also had no idea that Kiritsugu had been a Magus, Charles knew this to be the most believable lie.

Shinji's face only seemed to contort in anger at the mention of Rin.

"Oh? And do you know what Tohsaka is staying over too?" Shinji spat out.

Knowing there was no point in lying, he answered truthfully.

"Well, because of the Holy Grail War."

Charles' calm demeanor once again made Shinji stand in shock. Charles had hoped that being as calm as possible would help alleviate any doubts Shinji still had of him being a Master, yet the air was still thick with tension. He was beginning to feel that his actions were only making the situation worse.

"So you know about the Grail War, huh?" Shinji responded, after he collected himself. "Are you also helping them?"

"Of course not. I'm nowhere near skilled enough to risk my life with such a thing." Charles quickly replied, sensing an opportunity to turn the situation around.

Like expected, Shinji's smile returned.

"Heh, you're right. You need to real skill to fight in the Grail War." Shinji snidely remarked. "Like the skill I have, for example. I plan to win the war."

Feeling the tension dissipate, Charles felt relieved. It would not take much to get out of the situation now; all he had to do was continue to be submissive and shower Shinji in praise.

"Really? That's quite impressive." He responded, feigning surprise.

Shinji took the compliment as expected, and continued to smirk. The tension in the air seemed all but gone.

Behind Shinji, Charles noticed some students exiting the dojo. _Perfect_, he thought as he turned his gaze back to Shinji, _I should be able to get ou-_

His thoughts were interrupted when he took another glance at Shinji. Shinji's eyes were sparkling with excitement, so much so that Charles actually felt disturbed. The look Shinji was giving him made the feeling of uneasiness return once more. It was a look full of ill intent.

"Hey, I have an idea." Shinji stated, smiling all the while. He started walking but stopped right before he passed Charles. "Follow me; I want to show you something."

Charles could hear the excitement in Shinji's voice. If it were any other time he would have denied Shinji, but he could feel Rider's presence nearby. It was obvious he had no choice in the matter.

He nodded at Shinji, and they began heading in the direction of the school. Despite the fact he was a short distance behind Shinji, Charles could still feel the aura of ill intent emitting from him. A feeling of dread began to overcome him as he realized what the situation had fallen to. Although he did not know why, the presence Shinji currently was emitting told Charles one thing: Shinji was going to have Rider activate the boundary field.

They continued their walk towards the school, and at the same time, Charles took a look around the courtyard. There were still students in the vicinity, and likely more within the school itself. Certainly not as much as there would have been had the field been activated during the school day, but the fact that there were any meant it would be a problem.

When they got to the side entrance to the school, Shinji stopped and turned to look back towards him. He motioned his head towards the door, indicating that he wanted Charles to open it. After he did, Shinji went through with a smirk, leaving Charles to follow shortly behind.

After entering the school, Charles saw that the hallway was relatively empty, though he could hear some students conversing, likely within one of the classrooms. Shinji did not seem to care, and was headed in the direction of the stairwell.

As they continued to journey down the hallway a lingering question was floating in Charles head. _Why did Shinji change his mind? _Rin had not done anything to provoke Shinji, so he had not activated the field during the day. Yet something had made Shinji change his decision. It had to have been from their previous conversation, but Charles could not see what.

Shinji had activated it the field in the other war because of his jealousy for Shirou, but Charles had done his best not to say anything about Shirou. He had kept his identity as a Master a secret, so Shinji had no reason to activate it out of fear. He had even gone as far as to praise him, so it was not like Shinji was doing it out of anger. Nothing was making sense.

When they reached the stairs they began venturing up them until they reached the third floor. They continued down the hallway, and while they did Charles noticed that Shinji was looking through each classroom's window as they passed them. He had done the same. In comparison to the first floor, the third floor was completely silent, and it appeared as if it was empty.

They stopped when they reached the end of the hallway.

"You wait here." Shinji ordered. "I'll be right back."

With that, Shinji opened the door to one of the nearby classrooms. Just before he entered it, he turned back with a grin. "If you want to live, don't try anything." He stated, with a voice full of anticipation.

When Shinji shut the door behind him, Charles sighed and turned around to look out the windows. There were still students in the courtyard, and even if the third floor appeared empty, the other floors were not. The situation was not looking good.

As expected, Charles could feel an excessive feeling of hostility coming from nearby. Although he could feel Rider watching him, the hostile feeling was not emitting from her. It was coming from Assassin.

Assassin had been calm during the conversation with Shinji, surprisingly. Yet once Assassin had realized the severity of the situation, the hostility had increased tenfold. So far, Assassin had followed Charles' order to not kill any of the Masters', but Charles worried if that would still hold true in the future.

Given how driven Assassin seemed to win the war, if the situation worsened and the opportunity presented itself, Assassin would likely kill Shinji without a second thought. And even if that would be easier than fighting Rider, Charles would not let that happen.

His thoughts were interrupted by both the sound of a door sliding open and familiar laughing. Turning to look, he saw Shinji with a cellphone in his hand, laughing manically.

"I can't believe how much of an idiot that guy is." Shinji managed to speak. Walking over to stand beside Charles, he looked through the window and towards the school gate. "Well, anyway, he should be here in a few minutes. Then the fun will begin."

Charles made no reply and instead went back to looking out the window. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth.

"Shinji, you don't have to do this."

"What's the matter? Have you finally realized the position you are in?" Shinji blurted, almost yelling. His comment had made Charles turn slightly to look at him. The eyes that stated back at Charles were full of hate, yet Shinji was laughing at the same time, as if he was enjoying every second of it.

"You know what? After we're done with Emiya, maybe we can give Tohsaka call. Then you'll be responsible for the deaths of two of your friends. Won't that be great!?" He continued to laugh.

The intense hatred in Shinji's voice only disturbed Charles more. He knew there were few things that could bring Shinji to such a state. And as he continued to stare at Shinji's hateful expression, he finally realized what was going on.

Shinji's hate was driven by jealously, just as before. Except this time, the target of his envy was not Shirou; it was Charles.

Since coming to the school, Charles had become immensely popular. He had become somewhat of a counterpart to Rin; the only difference was that he was much more willing to socialize with those around him. This resulted in him becoming a target of affection for many of the girls around school. As Shinji prided himself on both his popularity and his way with women, he would have only seen Charles as a rival.

The rumours sounding Rin would have only increased this rivalry. Charles' rumoured "relationship" with Rin had increased his popularity, which in turn would have made Shinji see him as a bigger rival. When Shinji had gotten rejected by Rin, it would have stung him even more than it had the original time. It would have made him believe Charles was capable of something that he wasn't.

Even yesterday, when Rin had walked away from him instead of punching him; that too would have only increased his jealously. Without her defending Shirou, Shinji would have only jumped to conclusions about the reason Rin had denied him. He would have believed that Charles was the one he was being compared to, not Shirou.

But the main influence - the 'tipping point' - would have been when Shinji had realized that Charles was a Magus. That the foreigner that had only shown up a month ago, who had become more popular than him and had taken the girl that had rejected him, was a Magus. The one thing Shinji wanted more than anything to become. The one thing he would never achieve, no matter how hard he tried. This revelation would have made his already flaming hatred become an inferno of animosity.

As Charles continued to stare in Shinji's spiteful eyes, he was reminded of the look Shinji had first given him, during their initial conversation. Of the smirk that had been on his face when Charles had first turned around. It was clear as day: Shinji's intentions from the start had been fueled by hostility.

Even before their conversation had begun Shinji had likely intended to dispose of Charles; their conversation had only changed the method. Charles' calm responses, his composed personality; all of it had only made Shinji seem inferior. It had provoked Shinji to the point where he wanted to prove his superiority, by highlighting the one thing that he believed he had an edge over Charles: the fact that he was a Master.

_And what better way to do that other than to hold the entire school hostage, _Charles morbidly thought to himself.

Despite that he had managed to keep his emotions hidden up until now, Charles' face had paled when he had come to the realization behind what was going on. Shinji relished in this reaction, and did not seem to care that Charles had not responded to his question. He had then turned to look out the window, eagerly waiting for what was to come.

Charles, however, did not turn to look, and instead continued to stare at Shinji. Despite the situation, he was not nervous. The self-hatred within him had grown large enough that any nervousness he once possessed had dissipated.

It was clear to him that he had made a mistake, a mistake that should have been avoidable. Just as he had ignored the feelings of Rin and Shirou, he had done the same for Shinji. He had not taken Shinji's emotions into account when he had done his planning, and had expected Shinji to follow the path that had already been set.

He knew that life was not linear. It was obvious that there were an infinite amount of possibilities that could arise in a given moment. The problem was that he had once again failed to realize that the life he now lived was just that,_ life_.

He was not a person thrown into a fairy tale - a tale that had a definite ending. Instead, the story that he had once known had become reality. The people within it were not characters, but people with real emotions. They would no longer follow the life that had been created for them, and instead would create their own.

This was not something new to Charles. He had already come to this realization before, and it was for that reason that he was so angry with himself. He should have seen this coming.

At the same time, he knew it was not the time for self-loathing. _People's _lives were at stake, and if he did not plan his next moves carefully, blood would be on his hands. And he already promised himself that would not happen.

"That damn coward!"

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Shinji, who was still looking out the window. Charles quickly turned to see what Shinji meant.

Outside, by the school gate, he could see Shirou. However, he was not alone. A blonde girl, wearing casual blue dress, was standing beside him.

_Saber? _

Whereas Shinji seemed to be fuming with anger, Charles was standing shocked. Considering Shinji's reaction, he must have told Shirou to come alone. Shirou should have listened to him, just like before. He would never risk taking Saber, as his ideal of 'saving everyone' was more important to him than his own life. Yet there the two stood, scanning the courtyard, likely conversing on where they should look.

A sudden realization hit Charles like a train. He could no longer feel Assassin's presence. However, it was not as if it had just vanished. When he was deep in thought earlier, Assassin must have left.

Things were starting to make sense in his head as he put the pieces together. Assassin had likely followed Shinji into the other room and listened to the phone conversation. Knowing the danger of the situation, he would have not have let Shirou come alone. He must have hurried over, stopped Shirou before he made it to the school, and then told Saber what was happening.

Somehow, Charles managed a smile. The two figures began running towards the school building.

"Activate the field!" yelled Shinji, with panic in his voice.

The previously minimal presence that was near Charles suddenly became much larger. He did not bother to look, as it was obvious that Rider had just materialized. Instead, he continued to stare at Saber and Shirou as they ran towards the school. When he began to hear faint whisperings of words he did not understand, he squeezed his hands tightly and held his breath.

The whisperings stopped.

For a split second, he felt dizzy. However, that feeling only lasted for a single moment, and then everything felt normal once again.

Looking out the window, Charles could see that the area was still its usual hue. Some students in the courtyard looked as if they had felt something, and one had his hand on his forehead, but nothing appeared serious. Shirou and Saber had also hesitated for a moment, but were now continuing to head towards the school.

Sighing in relief, he turned away from the window to look at Shinji. Shinji face was contorted with anger, yet at the same time Charles could see sweat on his brow. He even seemed to be shaking slightly.

"What the hell are you doing!? Activate the damn field!" Shinji screamed.

Charles moved his gaze from Shinji to look at Rider for the first time. Rider was wearing her usual attire; a strapless dress, leggings, and long fingerless gloves, all black with pieces of magenta thrown in. Her long hair stretched all the way down to her feet. Like usual, her eyes were covered with her self-placed Breaker Gorgon, which suppressed the powers of her Mystic Eyes.

In contrast to Shinji's furious and panicked mood, she was completely calm. She held the familiar emotionless expression on her face, and appeared to be thinking.

"Something is interfering with the field." She stated calmly, after a few seconds.

Charles had to stop himself from smiling when he heard the conformation from Rider. Assassin had done his job.

The night before, Charles had made it clear to Assassin that the number one priority when dealing with Rider was to make sure the field would not harm any innocent bystanders. And as it so happened, Assassin's Noble Phantasm was perfect for preventing this.

Assassin's weapon represents the blade of every unnamed Assassin throughout history. It has spilled the blood of thousands of heroes, and thousands more who died before they could even become heroes. In other words, it is the "breaker of legends"; an anti-thesis to a normal Noble Phantasm. Instead of being the embodiment of a hero's legend, it represents the blade that has killed these heroes and ended their legends.

By tapping into its ability, 'legend disruption', Assassin is able to interfere with reality for a few moments. Once the blade comes in contact with something associated with a legend, it distorts reality, altering it so said legend never existed. By doing this, it can interfere with an enemy's Noble Phantasm's special abilities, and can be used to quickly defend against a trump card. By using it within the school grounds, Assassin was able to distort the legend surrounding the "Blood Fort Andromeda" and delay its effects temporarily.

Yet even though Assassin was likely hiding somewhere secluded, he would not be able to hold his Noble Phantasm forever. The field being activated had never been the real problem; what came afterwards had always been the real struggle. Unless Rider was dealt with quickly, the field would reactivate, and the entire plan would have been pointless.

Luckily, Assassin's quick thinking earlier might have given them the opportunity they needed.

"What do you mean 'something is interfering with the field'?! " Shinji yelled. "Do something about it!"

Rider did not respond to at first, and instead just stood with her emotionless expression. Charles understood that she must have come to the conclusion that there was another Servant on the grounds. It was the only logical option; something that was capable of interfering with her field would need to be extremely powerful, something a normal Magus would not be able to do.

Yet at the same time, he knew that she would not be able to do anything about it. Not only was the school grounds still full of witnesses, Saber and Shirou were likely in the school already. Shinji and she had only one option left, and her delayed reaction made it clear that she understood that well.

"I cannot match Saber." She stated coldly, ignoring Shinji's demand. "It would be best for us to leave quickly."

Shinji took the reply with shock and staggered backwards. The fear on his face was evident, yet somehow he managed to speak up.

"Y-you useless bitch!" He screamed, with both anger and terror in his voice. "What kind of weak Servant are you!?"

Despite Shinji's reply, Charles could see that even he realized what she said was true. Even if the school grounds had been empty, Rider was still no match for Saber in her current state. Their only option was to run while they had the chance.

As Charles continued to stand quietly beside Shinji, a small smile appeared on his lips. Shinji was preoccupied with the situation, and had seemingly forgotten about him. All he had to do now was turn around, use the air in the hallway to blow open the window, and then make his escape. Shinji would not have time to react, and Rider would not risk anything, lest their own situation become even worse. It was the perfect chance.

As he turned towards the window, he took one last look at Shinji. He was visibly shaking, and his brow was glistened with sweat. His pitiful state reminded Charles of a cornered animal. This sight made him stop cold.

Once Shinji escaped with Rider, he would no longer look like a cornered animal. After reaching safety, Shinji would realize that he had been made a fool of. His plan had failed, and if Charles were to escape, he would once again be reminded of his inferiority. This would motivate him to lash out at anything in his path; he would end up using Rider to drain innocents of Prana, manipulating their weakness as a way to prove to himself that _he_ was the superior one. He would do anything to satisfy the superiority complex he had created to protect his sanity.

The sound of blade cutting flesh echoed through the hallway. Rider had begun the summoning of her mount, and blood was spilling from her throat. Shinji stood cowering, and had no idea what was going on. Charles stood hesitantly beside him, and watched the scene unfold.

Charles knew that he was the one at fault. He had failed to see Shinji's jealousy, despite knowing Shinji's personality. He had pushed Shinji to activate the field prematurely, as it had been done once before. And soon, the blood of Shinji's victims would be on his hands. Victims that never should have existed in the first place.

Rider's blood was now forming a magic circle in the air. The magical energy leaking from it was growing by the second. There was not much time. He had to make a choice.

"Charles!" a voice called out to him from down the hallway. He turned to look, and saw Shirou, on the other side of the hallway, running towards their position. Saber was following shortly behind with an uneasy look on her face.

Rider laughed quietly to herself as the ritual finished. Just before a large flash blinded his eyes, Charles saw Saber quickly push Shirou down to the ground,

At that moment, raging wind exploded through the hallway. He felt someone grabbing his waist, and within a second, air was pushing against his skin at immense speeds.

He did not need to see to know what had happened: Rider and Shinji had made their escape, taking him with them.

As he continued to blindly fly through the air, there was no feeling of regret inside him. He had already made his choice, during the night when the war truly began. He was going to take responsibility for his actions. He was not going to let others suffer because of his mistakes.

However, unlike Shirou, his determination was not unbreakable. When the time came, he only hoped he would have the strength to not falter.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter stuff is going to go down.

As always, feel free to give voice any criticisms you may have. It doesn't have to be related to this chapter, it could be the story as whole. I really want to hear your guys opinions on this stuff. Have I captured the personalities of every character correctly? Is Charles a boring/unbelievable character? Is the idea behind Assassin's NP bad, or Assassin himself uninteresting? Has my story been lore-friendly so far/have I screwed up any concepts within the universe? Your criticism doesn't need to be generalized either, feel free to nit pick specific moments. Like Rin wouldn't have done that, Shirou would have done this, etc.

Any comments of praise in specific areas would be nice too, just to know if I am doing anything right. And any tips on how to fix my atrocious grammar and sentence structure would also be quite helpful. Thanks for reading.


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